Lies
by kratos lover1
Summary: A new Storm story that takes place after The Awakening. New villain and the most controversial story of this series. Reviews and feedback are greatly encouraged in this story. StormxZelos, StormxYuan, SheenaxLloyd, KratosxAnna, PreseaxGenis
1. Chapter 1: Strange

Welcome to the new story, and probably the most controversial of all I'll ever write. It's here that we'll see how much you guys actually like my writing. Anyway, before I end up giving something away I'd better start writing. This story takes place sometime not too long after "The Awakening." So enjoy "Lies."

Disclaimer: I really wish that I owned Tales of Symphonia, but sadly it belongs to Namco. I do own Storm and I wish that I could somehow get her into the game. Oh, and let's see. Kararu Rinamino owns Sutra while Raspedra Twilight owns the artwork of these two characters since she draws them both I guess.

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Chapter 1: Strange

It had been almost a year since the group managed to defeat Spiritua and Anna was still no where to be found. Storm and the others had been desperately searching for her wherever they went.

They were still helping with some of the rebuilding processes around the world, but things were actually coming back together quite nicely. Many of the larger cities were already rebuilt including Palmacosta, Meltokio, Luin, and Sybak. Some of the other smaller cities were still working towards being rebuilt, but it wouldn't take as long to bring them back to how they were before the attacks. Storm and Zelos were moved back into Meltokio in their new house, but were rarely there as they either helped with the rebuilding or went to look for an very absent Anna.

Storm was feeling as if things were hopeless when it came to finding her daughter, but she kept looking for her nonetheless. She was so afraid that if she stopped looking for her she would miss a chance to finding her. She wouldn't give up until she found her and brought her back home.

It had been a long day and Storm was exhausted she just wanted to sit and relax after helping rebuild some houses and move in people into their new houses. It was hard work, but it was rewarding and she felt like she was making up for what she had done while Mithos had her.

Storm walked out onto the back porch of their house and breathed in the cool night air. She could hear the singing of the crickets as nature began to prepare for the long night. Suddenly, she saw someone near the grove of trees in their backyard that had been planted since the rebuilding. Storm squinted to try and make out the figure, but was unable to.

"Hey Storm come over here," said the figure as they took a few steps away from the trees. Storm was able to immediately tell that it was Zelos calling out to her. She wondered how he had managed to get past her, but she figured that he had just gotten in before her and had been waiting for her to come outside. She wondered what he wanted to talk to her about.

Storm walked into the grove of trees where Zelos was hiding as he stood facing her. She cocked her head at him, waiting for him to ask whatever he was going to say. After a few awkward moments of silence she finally decided to remind him that she was waiting for him to say something.

"Uh...Zelos, you wanted to ask me something, right?" she asked him, giggling a little at his forgetfulness.

"Oh yeah, sorry," he apologized before looking at her. "You know, I was thinking about Anna," he told her. Storm's eyes got wide at the name for a second before they eventually faced the ground in a sadly.

"Yeah, what about her?" she asked him quietly.

"I was wondering if we would ever find her. I don't think she wants to be found and I think she's been doing a pretty good job of hiding from us," Zelos told her as he placed a hand on his hip. Storm noticed this and couldn't help but hold back a giggle. It had been a long time since she saw that stance from him. After he quit acting like a playboy he had stopped doing that, and she thought it was funny. She figured that he was making himself nervous with this topic.

"I don't want to stop looking for her and you know it," Storm told him with a sense of finality in her voice, but it was apparent to her that Zelos was planning on pushing the subject anyways.

"I know, but think about it. She has a Cruxis Crystal and we know that she knows how to fight now. Do we really have to worry about her? I think that even if we found her now we would never be able to get her back," Zelos pointed out to her.

"I guess you're right...but I can't still help but worry about her. I mean what if stop looking and we lose our chance of finding her. I want to see her again Zelos," Storm told him.

"Where did Anna get the Cruxis Crystal?" Zelos suddenly asked. This question threw Storm a little off guard and she wondered why he suddenly asked.

"What?" she asked him as she stared at him questioningly.

"How was she able to find the Cruxis Crystal? Where did you and Kratos hide them?" he asked her this time with a little more authority in his voice.

"Well...I suppose since she is my child the angels would allow her to take one of them. They know where it is exactly. They will only take people who are related to me since I defeated Pronyma," Storm explained.

"I see...and who all would be able to get one?" he asked her. Storm was getting a little uncomfortable with his strange questions, but decided to answer them anyway.

"Well...me, Anna, Kratos, Lloyd, and I suppose you could now that they can tell that your blood is in Anna's," she explained to him.

"I understand," Zelos told her as he began to walk back towards the house. Storm turned around to watch him leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked him, wondering more why he had ended the conversation so suddenly rather than where he was actually going.

"I'm going back in, I'm tired. I suppose we can continue to look for Anna tomorrow if it's what you really want," he told her without turning to look at her before continuing back to the house.

Storm stood in the grove for a few minutes, trying to go over what had happened. She was a still confused by Zelos' questions and the sudden end of their conversation. She had to admit that it was all strange behavior. Of course, they had been working non stop since they began rebuilding. She had to admit that she was getting run down as well. She couldn't exactly blame him for his behavior, his exhaustion was probably beginning to catch up with him.

She headed back to the house and went to bed for the night. She would let him sleep in for a little longer than normal in the morning so she went to bed earlier so she could wake up earlier to get some of the chores done for him.

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The next morning, Storm woke up to see that Zelos was already awake and out of bed. She wondered where he was and got up to go and check for herself. She went downstairs and saw a piece of paper sitting on an end table. She walked over to it and saw that it was a note from Zelos. She read it over carefully.

_Dear Storm,_

_I went out to town to go shopping. I have something I wanted to give to you today, but I am not telling you what just yet. It's a surprise. Come outside of Meltokio at noon at your favorite spot and I will give you your surprise. _

_Until then,_

_Zelos_

Storm placed the note in her pocket and thought over the place that he was talking about.

It was then that it hit her. There was a small grove of trees outside of Meltokio near a cliff that overlooked the ocean and the bridge. This place was below the cliff and she loved the view of the cliff overlooking all the scenes. This was her favorite place in all of the new world. She had to admit that she was excited about whatever he was planning to give her. She got herself ready quickly and got all of her morning chores down before heading to the place.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. I know, I said that I was going to finish Forbidden Love first but I really wanted to get this one started. I only have one chapter on the other one so before long this will be the only one. Anyway, hope you liked the intro. Thanks for reading and please remember to review. 


	2. Chapter 2: Surprise

Well, I hope I have some of you in suspense, but probably not. I know everyone wants to know what the surprise is, if that counts for suspense. Well, guess what! You get to find out this chapter! Yay! Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate being able to know what the readers think. Anyway, on to the next chapter. So, I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Surprise

Storm was walking towards the spot that Zelos had told her to go to. She was confused why he wanted to meet her here, but she dismissed it, realizing that it probably had to do with the surprise. She had to admit that she was excited about whatever it was. Soon, she saw the grove of trees not too far ahead.

She walked into the small grove and sat down under a tree, leaning against it. She felt the breeze blow through as some of the leaves drifted to the ground, being carried by the wind gently before finally reaching their destination. There wasn't a large amount of sunlight, but it did filter through some spots between the leaves of the trees. She loved it in this spot, it was so peaceful and serene. She definitely would have fallen asleep if she wouldn't have heard the rustle of leaves nearby.

Storm opened one eye in the direction of the sound and saw Zelos standing before her. She hopped off the ground and happily went up to him, ready to find out what he was going to give her. Zelos smirked at her behavior, especially since she acted like a young child ready to open presents at Christmas.

"Okay, so tell me what you got me," Storm ordered him as she tried to see what he was hiding behind his back. He wouldn't let her see what he had a moved back and forth to prevent her from seeing it.

"Be patient, you'll see," he told her as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted a little at his request.

"Fine I guess..." she finally said before she walked back over to her tree and sat down.

Zelos saw where she was sitting and walked up to her until he was standing about three or four feet away from her. He stared at her before she finally looked at him. She noticed how he was standing and figured that he had wanted her to remain standing. She slowly stood up and looked at him, hoping that he was going to give her the surprise.

"Storm, do you remember what I said to you last night?" he asked.

Storm thought a little before remembering their conversation from the night before. "Yeah, you were talking about giving up looking for Anna," she said.

"That's right," he replied.

"Don't tell me you actually want to give up looking for her!" Storm burst in angrily. She was going to be upset with him if that's what he brought her here for. She really hoped his present wasn't some way for him to bribe her to give up the search because it wasn't going to work.

"No, no I'm not going to stop searching," Zelos said causing Storm to breathe a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to fight with him on the issue.

"But, do you remember what else I asked you?" he asked her turning his head a little to hear what her reply was.

Storm thought for a bit, and then remembered the strange question that he had asked her earlier. "Yeah, you asked about how to get the Cruxis Crystal, but what does that have to do with anything?" she asked him.

"That's what I got the surprise for, wait until you see it," Zelos said as he motioned for her to come closer to him.

Storm took a few steps towards him until she was within arms length of him. She was very confused with what exactly the surprise could be, and what it had to do with the Cruxis Crystal.

"Okay..." Storm said while waiting for him to give her whatever he was hiding.

"All right, now close your eyes," he told her as she gave him a strange look before doing as he asked.

The next few seconds were almost like slow motion to Storm as she suddenly felt a searing pain explode in her side. She opened her eyes up when she felt the pain. All she could see was Zelos grinning wildly as he pulled out his sword from her side, covered in blood, her blood. A look of confusion flew across Storm's face as she watched him move. But he wasn't the one who was moving, she was falling to the ground. She didn't let Zelos out of her sight as she watched him staring at her falling form. There was something different in his eyes, he had a look of evil and hatred as he watched her finally hit the ground with a thud.

Storm was laying on her stomach when she fell and she attempted to get up. She put her hands out in front of her as she attempted to lift herself up. She was about to push up, but suddenly, one of her hands was crushed under a foot. She looked up and saw Zelos standing above her smirking at her pain.

"What...why Zelos?" she whimpered out as she stared at him.

"Oh, you mean why did I attack you? Why did I attack my love?" he asked her in a very sarcastic tone. He laughed a little as Storm nodded at him weakly.

"Don't you get it? I don't really love you, and I never did. I only work for myself, I only fight for the winning side," Zelos said. Storm's eyes grew wide at his reply. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and refused to accept it as the truth. She knew that this all had to be a dream.

Zelos finally got off of her hand and stepped back so she didn't have to strain to see him. He wanted to look right at her as he explained things to her.

"I don't...I don't understand. How long?" she asked.

"Well, pretty much from the beginning. I knew that if I waited long enough the relationship would pay off. It finally did. I have lost a lot of my good looks and I need eternal life, the crystal can help me do that. I would have had my own, but Lloyd ruined it after he almost killed me. It was never the same after that, it's nothing more than an ordinary exsphere when it comes to its power. I need a new crystal and I knew that you knew how to get them. Now, finally you trusted me enough to tell me where it was at and Anna's disappearance was a great thing to use as a distraction. You never suspected anything from my question," Zelos laughed as he explained everything.

Storm could feel the tears burning her eyes, the pain from her heart definitely exceeding anything that the pain from her side had ro bring. She couldn't believe that she had allowed someone else deceive her and cause her to believe that she was loved. She had once thought that Mithos had loved her like a niece, but that proved to be a lie when he began to beat her and didn't even care if she got in the way of his fighting. Now, after so long with Zelos he had finally exposed that he didn't love her either. She was beginning to feel as if she was only a tool for people to get what they want, and that she was easily tossed aside afterwards.

"Now, I think that I'll go and get my crystal from Derris Kharlan and kill some of the people who made my life a living hell," Zelos said as he walked out of the grove, leaving Storm still laying on the ground bleeding.

"Why would you betray me Zelos!" Storm screamed out in a hoarse voice as tears streamed down her face.

Storm finally managed to get herself to her knees as she placed a hand on her side to try and stop the bleeding. Thankfully, the cut wasn't too deep and she would be okay. She was determined to find Zelos though. She figured she could go back and be depressed like in the past, but this time the line had been crossed. She was tired of being pushed around and discarded so easily. Zelos was going to pay for what he had done. She saw him heading towards the cliff that overlooked the ocean.

She was going to get there and stop him, even if it killed her. She would teach him to betray her. If she was going to die today, he was going to die along with her. She would make sure of that.

"Bastard," she growled under her breath as she began to make her way to the base of the cliff.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. I know, right into the action already, but hey there is still more to come. Wow! It's funny writing action drama stuff again. I was so used to the romance. Anyway, tell me what you thought and I hope you enjoyed. Thanks! 


	3. Chapter 3: Confrontation

Well, I guess it's time for me to update before everything gets really crazy around here. Don't freak out if I don't update for three or four days because this weekend is going to be insane for me. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate everything you guys have to say. Anyway, I know you're all in suspense, and maybe some of you are in shock. I don't really know. Anyway, here's the next chapter to help you out. Enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Confrontation 

Storm finally made her way to the base of the cliff where she saw that Zelos had made it to the top. She couldn't take the time to climb up the cliff, so she decided her only choice was to fly. With the injury in her side it was a risk to use her angelic powers, wasting some of her strength that could be vital in a confrontation. Of course, at this point, Storm was so upset and hurt she didn't really care what happened to her as long as she made that liar Zelos pay for what he had done to her.

She revealed her pair of blue wings as she slowly ascended the cliff. She didn't want to go too fast and have them give out on her. She didn't exactly want to crash to the ground. Her side was aching, but she pushed that all out of her mind as she kept going up the cliff. Luckily, he hadn't hurt her too badly and it was almost finished bleeding. She was thankful he stuck her in her side rather than directly in her stomach. That would have had worse results for her.

It was then that she began to wonder why he didn't just kill her. She was wide open for any type of assault and he didn't just finish her off, in fact, he didn't even give her anything close to a fatal wound. Granted, it had hurt, and she wasn't too thrilled with the wound when it stung whenever she moved a little, but she could handle that for the time being.

Finally she landed at the top of the cliff and put her wings away. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to pull them out again, and was certain of it if she received another wound from Zelos. But, with as mad as she was she wasn't too concerned with him getting the upper hand in this battle. She was going to teach him not to mess with her so he wouldn't get the upper hand.

She looked around and noticed that Zelos was no where to be found. She was worried that she had lost him and that he had already escaped to someplace to hide. If she didn't hurry he'd get to Derris Kharlan and would get the Cruxis Crystal. She wasn't sure if she could fight him if he had that. She wandered farther up the cliff, closer to the edge. The end of the cliff overlooked the ocean and she figured that if she got through the woods surrounding this overlook she might see where he was escaping to.

When she broke through the dense group of trees she saw Zelos standing near the edge of the cliff. She stopped and glared at him. He was standing there so calmly as if nothing had even happened and it really angered her. She couldn't believe that he was able to throw her away so easily. She just really wanted to strangle him at that moment. She took a step closer, stepping on a twig which cracked under her foot. She flinched when she heard the sound and looked up to see if he had noticed.

Unfortunately for her Zelos turned around at the sound to see her. He smiled a little, but it soon disappeared when he saw the look on her face. He had a look of confusion as he saw the obvious anger spread over her. She relaxed her body when she realized that she had been found.

"Storm, there you are," he said happily.

"Don't give me that Zelos. Don't try to act like you're my buddy now after all that," she growled at him as she took another step closer to him.

"What are you talking about? What's gotten you so upset?" he asked her questioningly.

"Oh I don't know Zelos...let's think back a little bit. Oh yeah, that's right I remember what got me so upset...you!" she yelled at him angrily. She jumped a little when she was screaming, her side in pain, before she reached down and held onto her wound with a hand.

Zelos backed up a little at her reaction, shocked and confused by her. He then looked and saw that she was bleeding on her side. A look of concern washed over his face as he began to walk closer to her. As he did she pulled out her sword with her free hand and held it in front of her. "Don't you come near me," she growled through clenched teeth.

"What happened to you?" he asked her as he put his hands out in front of him to signal to her he meant her no harm and that he knew she was serious.

"You would know, you're the one that did this to me you bastard!" she screamed at him as she showed him the wound quickly before covering it with her hand again.

"Woah, wait a minute Storm, there has to be some mix up. Are you sure it was me you saw?" he asked her.

"Yes, you were only a few feet away from me when you did this and then when you explained to me your little plan. I'm sure this is a part of it too. I mean, you are so good at acting like you love me. You've led me on for so long," she told him spitefully.

"I do love you, that's why I can't understand why you'd think I did that to you," he told her worriedly.

"It doesn't matter, all I know is that you're going to pay for what you did to me," she said as she came closer to him with her sword ready. She used both arms to hold her sword, ignoring the pain in her side for the fight, she didn't care anymore.

"I don't want to fight you Storm, but if I need to stop you I will. I will make you understand that you're wrong. I didn't hurt you, I'll make you see that," Zelos said, knowing full well that she only knew how to solve problems with fighting. He wouldn't get anywhere with settling this peacefully with her. He pulled out his sword to defend himself as he prepared for her attack, he just hoped he lived through the fight.

Storm was about to attack when she looked more closely at Zelos' sword. It was completely cleaned and dry. Even if he had found the time somehow to clean it, there was no way it would have been that dry already. It had only been a few minutes since the attack and his sword was sparkling clean like it hadn't been used in awhile. She knew for a fact that she had seen her blood all over the sword when he attacked her.

This was also when she decided to look closer in his eyes, they weren't as dark and evil looking as before. They weren't the same. She ran over the conversation they had just had and put her sword at her side as she stared at him.

"Zelos...?" she asked him quietly, almost to herself.

"It wasn't me who did this to you," he replied, hoping he was getting to her.

"It is you," she said as Zelos came up to her and pulled her close to him.

"I'm glad that you figured that out," he said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, if it wasn't you who attacked me, then who?" she asked.

It was then that the two heard an all too familiar voice, an all too familiar laugh coming from the woods. Soon, a figure emerged from the dark woods, revealing exactly who they thought they had heard...it was Anna.

"Isn't technology great?" Anna laughed as she came a few steps closer to her parents. "It's a shame though, I was really going to enjoy you two fighting to the death. Oh well," she said happily as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Anna! What are you doing here? What are you talking about?" Storm asked her as Zelos released her from his embrace. She turned to look at her daughter, hoping for some of her confusion to be cleared up.

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm the one that brought you both here. Dad, do you remember that little note Mom left for you this morning? The one to meet you here so she could tell you something," Anna reminded him.

"Yeah," he told her as he pulled out the note she was speaking of.

"I was the one that left that for you," she revealed to him as she chuckled a little. "And Mom, remember when Dad talked to you last night about the Cruxis Crystal and when he attacked you not too long ago?" Anna asked her.

"Well, yeah," she said, her side still aching from the wound that someone had inflicted on her.

"Also me," she laughed.

"But how could you do that? You looked just like him," she asked, beginning to grow angrier.

"Of course I did. I have this really cool thing called a Derris Emblem that Mithos taught me to use. I think you remember that from before, don't you?" she asked her as a large smile spread across her face.

"You attacked me! But why?" Storm asked, hurt that her own daughter would try and hurt her and turn her against Zelos.

"We've been over this Mom. I hate you two. You've lied to me my entire life and now it's finally time for payback. I am willing to sit and bide my time until I can finally attack and today was the perfect time. I would love nothing more than to see you both dead and out of my life," she spat at her parents.

"Anna, I don't understand we've never done anything to intentionally hurt you," Zelos yelled to his daughter.

"I've heard enough from the two of you," Anna snapped as she pulled out a sword. Zelos and Storm were both shocked that she even had a sword, and that she was willing to use it on them. "It's time for you both to die," she said.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. Look, another evil cliffie of doom. Be prepared cause their will be a lot of these in this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I know some of you breathed a big sigh of relief when Zelos was not the real attacker. But don't get too comfortable yet, this story is full of twists and turns and heartache so hang on. Anyway, thanks for all the review, I'm excited about how many people I'm hearing from again! Anyway, thanks and can't wait till the next chapter. 


	4. Chapter 4: Family Brawl

Okay, well I won't take up too much time, so on to the next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 4: Family Brawl

Storm was definitely unwilling to attack her own daughter, but if she needed to stop her she would. She couldn't understand why she was always so angry at them. It was like no matter what they said to her they would never get through to her. She was too far gone for them to bring back. Storm pulled out her sword and prepared herself for whatever Anna was going to bring.

Zelos looked over at Storm, realizing she was actually going to fight against Anna. He looked at her, trying to understand what her plan was exactly as he slowly pulled out his own sword.

"Zelos, try to stop her, but we can't hurt her," Storm told him, not once taking her eyes off of her daughter.

Zelos simply nodded at Storm as he brought out his sword, praying that Anna would actually listen to what they had to say this time. She didn't have Sutra or Mithos with her to egg her on so hopefully they could talk some sense into her eventually. He only prayed that he was right with this assumption.

Anna was the first to move as she ran towards her mother. Anna slashed at her fiercely, trying to do some major damage to her mother. She definitely wasn't playing with them and Storm had to defend herself with her own sword unless she wanted to lose some sort of appendage in the fight.

Zelos, seeing Storm in major trouble, decided to try and knock the weapon out of Anna's hand as he came at her from the side. Anna saw him coming out of the corner of her eye as she jumped backwards suddenly. Zelos barely missed knocking her sword out of her hand with his own as she jumped backwards. She took the opportunity she created to slash her father in the side.

Zelos jumped back from his injury and put his hand to his side to see how badly he was bleeding from it. Luckily for him, it wasn't too bad, but it was bad enough that if the battle lasted too long he might get weak from the loss of blood. Of course, they would really have to be there for quite a while so he wasn't too worried.

"Are you all right?" Storm asked him as she came over to his side. Zelos nodded his head at her as he put his sword back in front of him, ready for the next attack.

Storm glared at her daughter, appalled at what she had done. Not only had she attacked her, but now she was attacking her father as well. She was beginning to wonder what she would try to do if she managed to kill them both. Where would her violence actually end? She was almost turning into a Yggdrasil in her own right.

Anna came at them again as if she was going to attack with the sword like last time. Storm prepared herself once again, but was thrown off guard as Anna pulled out her wings at the last second flying above her. Storm looked up just as Anna released her Agarasium attack, throwing Storm into the air in her vortex. Just as she reached the top of the spiral Anna stabbed her once again, this time in the arm, with her sword. Once the vortex was gone Storm landed on the ground roughly, giving Anna an opportunity to finish her off.

Storm regained her senses and saw Anna coming right at her, but she wouldn't be able to stop her in time. She was going to actually kill her, her own daughter was going to finish her off. She closed her eyes, ready for the impact, but it never came. She looked up when she heard the sound of metal crashing into metal. There, in front of her, was Zelos his sword locked with Anna's.

Storm took the opportunity to get off the ground as Zelos pushed Anna away and quickly jumped back. Storm was really beginning to get upset and frustrated with Anna and she wanted to stop her. She hated having to tiptoe around her, it was time for her to understand that they were serious.

"Anna stop this now, I won't play games with you for long," Storm yelled at her. Storm backed up a little as Anna began to come closer to her slowly. Anna took her steps slowly as Storm backed up a little more as she came closer. Storm looked behind her and saw that she was nearing the edge of the cliff. She really didn't think she had enough strength to use her wings, but she wasn't sure.

Zelos looked at Storm as Anna closed in on her, but when he was about to intervene he saw Storm look over at him and shake herself slowly. She apparently knew what she was doing, and he didn't want to ruin whatever she was planning.

"Listen to me Anna, can't you see that everything you heard was a lie?" Storm said nervously as she backed up one more step near the edge of the cliff before she stood her ground.

"If it was a lie, then what were those pretty little wings that you hid from me for so long?" Anna asked her as she got even closer, step by step. By this point she was only a few yards from her and getting closer.

"Anna, we did that because we were afraid of how you would react or other people. People treat you differently when you're like this. I didn't ask for these powers, in fact, I'd like to give them up!" Storm yelled at her, trying to get some sense in her head.

"How could you get powers like these on your own? You wanted power, didn't you?" Anna asked her.

"No, but that's what you've become obsessed with!" Storm shot back as Anna came within only about three feet of her.

"Well, if you're so upset about your condition why don't you let me end your suffering!" Anna yelled as she brought back her sword to attack her.

"Outburst!" Storm screamed, knocking Anna backwards forcefully with the blast of mana. When the young girl managed to regain her bearings she looked at her mother in disbelief. Storm glared at her daughter angrily.

"Mom?" Anna asked her innocently.

"I told you I wasn't going to put up with this anymore. This is where my kindness with you ends Anna," Storm said as she panted a little in between words. She had just used up whatever angelic powers she had left. It took up most of her strength and she was sure she couldn't use anymore of her stronger powers. She prayed that Anna had finally come to her senses.

Zelos watched as Anna slowly got to her. The look on his daughter's face was definitely different. Perhaps Storm had finally gotten to her. Anna slowly walked to her mother as she put her sword back into it's sheath. Was she giving up finally?

"Mom...I...I'm sorry for everything," Anna said quietly as she approached her mother tenderly.

"Anna...?" Storm asked her as she looked at her daughter approaching. This was what she wanted, to snap her out of her crazy state of mind. Her quest for revenge and power was taking her over, but she thought that maybe getting put in her place by her mother would snap her out of it, and help her see the error of her ways.

Zelos watched as Anna slowly approached Storm in what looked like an embrace. But what seemed to be an innocent hug turned deadly as Zelos saw Anna go for a small dagger she carried on her side. She reached up and put it around behind an unsuspecting Storm was waiting.

"Storm, look out!" Zelos yelled at her, but he was too late for her as Anna sliced deeply into Storm's shoulder before bringing the dagger across her back.

Storm's eyes shot open in pain before her legs gave out, falling into Anna. Anna pushed the unstable Storm backwards towards the cliff.

"Goodbye mother dearest," Anna said darkly as she pushed her completely off the cliff towards the ocean far below.

"Storm, no!" Zelos cried as he watched her fall off the cliff, knowing that she was probably too injured to bring out her wings.

Storm watched as her memories flashed before her as she fell from the cliff in what seemed to be slow motion. Different aspects of her life randomly going through her mind.

She could see some of the worse aspects of her life. Pronyma beating her till she was bruised and bloody, her times trying to keep Forcystus away from her, and when Mithos tried to take away her emotions. But then there were more memories. Ones that seemed to outweigh these bad ones. She remembered her first kiss with Zelos at the Tower of Salvation, hearing the real Mithos tell her that she had made the right choice, and her wedding day. These things put her heart at ease as she came closer to the ocean.

"I guess it wasn't all that bad in the end," she said to herself as she closed her eyes and awaited the cold water's embrace, her heart and soul at peace.

* * *

Kratos and Lloyd, followed by an eager Noishe, were walking towards Meltokio, they were going to Ozette today to help with some of the reconstruction and they wanted a little extra help from Storm and Zelos. They figured the two could take some time off from helping other in Meltokio move in to help actually rebuild in Ozette.

They were walking towards the large city when suddenly Kratos noticed Noishe run off into a small grove of trees. He stopped and waited to see what the animal was so anxious about. It wasn't like him to run off unless there were monsters around, but he could clearly see in the large open field that there was nothing around for miles. If there were monsters, they were most likely in the grove of trees.

"What's the matter?" Lloyd asked when he saw that Kratos had stopped.

"Noishe, he ran off that way," Kratos told his son as he pointed in the direction that Noishe had run to.

Soon, Noishe came out whining as he ran back to the two. He nudged both Kratos and Lloyd impatiently as he tried to get the two to follow him.

"All right, we'll follow you already," Lloyd said angrily.

The two swordsmen followed Noishe into the small grove of trees. Inside they found a large puddle of blood that had a smaller trail leading towards the cliff in the distance before it suddenly stopped.

"It looks as if someone has been injured," Kratos said as he looked closely at the blood.

"Well, we should try to find them and help them," Lloyd said impatiently.

"Lloyd, you don't even know if it's someone that we want to find and help," Kratos warned him. "Even after all this time and you're still too helpful and trustworthy."

Kratos was about to walk away when Noishe suddenly grabbed him by the sleeve of his outfit and tried to drag him towards the cliff.

"You too Noishe?" Kratos asked sadly as he put a hand to his forehead. He sighed loudly so the both could hear him. "I suppose if we must," he finally agreed as Noishe led the way up the cliff for both Lloyd and Kratos.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. Oh my gosh! What happened to Storm? What about Zelos? I know Kratos and Lloyd are coming, but will they come in time. Too bad they don't have Noishe's sense of smell or maybe they'd know why he was so anxious. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter and I hope you liked this one as well. Thanks, please review! 


	5. Chapter 5: Too Late?

I know, everyone is either going to kill me right now or they're still in a state of panic, or possibly a combination of the two. Anyway, thanks for all the review and I hope you like this next chapter. Oh, and please don't kill me for anything! Enjoy!

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Chapter 5: Too Late?

Zelos ran to the edge of the cliff as he looked down, mortified by what had just happened. He couldn't see Storm anywhere and feared that she had fallen into the ocean. Would she have been able to survive from that? He wasn't really sure. He felt his eyes water at the thought of losing her for good, especially so soon. They were supposed to be together for until he was old. They were going to be happy together, but something had just put a stop to that dream. He never thought that Storm would meet her death at the hands of her own daughter. Suddenly, Zelos snapped back to the present situation when he heard Anna laughing behind him.

He spun around and glared angrily at his daughter. Storm had given her another chance to redeem herself, but this was the final straw. She was going to pay for what she had done to Storm. He grabbed his sword, stood up, and pointed it straight at Anna. He was ready to fight, and he wasn't too concerned about what the outcome would be. Anna needed to be stopped and if the only way to do that was to kill her then he would have to. If she was capable of killing her mother then she was capable of killing many other innocent people.

"What's the matter Dad? Did I make you upset?" Anna laughed at him as he only continued to glare at her harder, his eyes stinging from the tears that threatened to fall.

"Anna! This is it, I'm not letting you get away with this anymore. If I must kill you to stop this then I will," he yelled at her.

Anna grabbed her sword and laughed at him. "I'd like to see you try," she said as she brought out her wings to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Zelos ran at Anna, but stopped a few feet short of her as he released his Double Demon Fang attack. The attack moved along the ground quickly, and Anna was barely able to jump out of the way in time. She wasn't hit directly by the attack, but was knocked to the side from the small amount that hit her as she was getting out of the way.

Anna barely had time to recover before Zelos was at her again, his sword crashing into her own. Anna wasn't exactly expecting this kind of fight from her father, but was beginning to see that she would have to take her fight up a notch if she wanted to defeat him. She realized that she had apparently gone too far with him and he was tired of showing her sympathy. That was her mother's downfall, she only wanted to forgive, she didn't want to believe that she could be betrayed by her own daughter.

Anna brought out some of her strength as she pushed Zelos off of her sword, throwing him back a few feet. She came at him, stopping in time to lift him off the ground with her Agarasium attack as Zelos tried to hit her as he swung his sword around inside the attack. It didn't work for him though and he was thrown to the ground, only to be met by Anna's Leonasium attack which rolled him backwards quite away.

Zelos was recovering on the ground as he struggled to his feet. His wound from earlier coupled with what he was receiving now was beginning to make things very difficult for him in the battle. He got to his feet and went after Anna again, jumping in the air before he reached her do he could launch his Victory Light Spear attack, throwing her in the air and slicing into her arms and side as he went at it. She cried out at the attack before hitting the ground with a loud thud.

She got up slowly and glared at her father, getting frustrated that she wasn't able to defeat him so easily. Finally, she began to chant quickly as Zelos ran to stop what he knew to be some sort of spell. He couldn't exactly identify the chant, but he knew he had to stop her before she finished.

Unfortunately, Zelos wasn't quick enough to stop Anna as she cried out her spell.

"Bloody Lance!" she cried as a dark circle appeared underneath Zelos' feet. Suddenly, a large crimson red spear fell from the sky, hitting him forcefully. He cried out in pain as he felt waves of pain flood throughout his body.

Once the attack had passed Anna looked and watched as Zelos fell to his knees, his head down as he tried to recover from the attack. He was obviously unable to keep fighting as she walked over to him to finish the battle.

"Well, it looks as if I truly am more powerful than the both of you," Anna laughed as she walked over. "And to think this all could have been prevented if you both wouldn't have lied to me for so long," she explained to him as if it should have been common sense to him.

"I'm sorry Storm, I wasn't able to protect you, and I couldn't avenge you either. Forgive me," Zelos said quietly to himself, his face still staring at the ground.

"Tell mother hello in hell," Anna said as she threw her sword into her father. Zelos completely collapsed to the ground as his life faded away. He closed his eyes peacefully, knowing that he was going to join his wife and mother finally.

Anna stared at the lifeless form of her father on the ground as she smirked a little at her accomplishment. "This was a lot easier than I thought it would be," she said to herself. She looked over to the cliff where her mother had fallen and noticed that her sword was lying by where she had been stabbed. She assumed that she dropped it before she fell and laughed a little at her mother's trusting personality when it came to her daughter.

"Anna!" a voice yelled behind her. Anna spun around, wondering who had come. She was met by the horrified looks of Lloyd and her grandfather. Kratos looked around, seeing a lifeless looking Zelos on the ground and Anna standing with a few battle wounds and a bloody sword. "What have you done?" he asked her, terrified by what he was seeing.

Anna knew that they would try and fight her off too, but she didn't think she wanted to risk fighting them after fighting with Storm and Zelos. She hadn't recovered and Lloyd and Kratos were no pushovers in a battle.

"I finally killed them both," she laughed as she brought out her wings. She flew into the air gently. "I finally got my revenge," she said before she flew out of the area before Lloyd and Kratos could even think about going after her.

Kratos walked over to Zelos' body and tried to find any signs of life. He was still warm, but he wasn't breathing and he couldn't feel any sort of pulse. He knew that he was dead and that it would devastate Storm when she found out. It was then that he remembered exactly what Anna had said.

"Lloyd, do you see Storm anywhere?" he asked him as his eyes grew wide at the thought of what had happened. He feared the worst as Lloyd pointed over towards the edge of the cliff where her sword laid.

"I can't believe it," Lloyd said sadly.

"No...she can't..." Kratos whispered so quietly that Lloyd couldn't even hear him.

"She fell off then," Kratos said as he looked down the cliff. As he looked down he noticed the blood that was on the ground by the edge. "And Anna hurt her before she did," he pointed out.

"Maybe she's okay. Maybe she washed up on shore somewhere or flew somewhere with her wings," Lloyd tried, hoping that she didn't suffer the same fate as Zelos.

"If she was injured then she probably couldn't fly away. Besides, Anna seemed pretty pleased with herself. But, I can't give up hope," Kratos said as he walked back over to where Zelos was laying.

Kratos picked up his body as he began to descend the cliff once more, wanting to head along the shore to look for any sign of Storm. He at least wanted to find a body so he could put her to rest.

"Come on Lloyd," Kratos said gravely as he began to walk with Lloyd and Noishe following solemnly behind him. Noishe whining along the way.

* * *

Well, that's the end of the chapter. NO ONE KILL ME! Anyway, please review, and don't kill me or threaten me please. Anyway, thanks for reading, more to come soon. Thanks! 


	6. Chapter 6: The Situation

Okay, so, seeing as how I am still alive I will continue the story. Just to let you know there is more to come and the story is not over yet. Anyway, on with the next chapter. Enjoy!

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Chapter 6: The Situation

Lloyd and Noishe ran ahead of Kratos while searching for any signs of Storm on the beach below the cliff. They looked far up the beach either way of the cliff, hoping she would drift somewhere and wash up on shore somewhere. They weren't sure if she would be dead or alive, but they wanted some sort of closure. Kratos still held onto Zelos, having no where to put him for the time being. He wanted to make sure he had a proper sending off, but finding Storm was the most important thing at the moment. If she was alive, she would probably need some help quickly or else it would be too late. That was, if she was alive at all.

Noishe whined a little in the distance as he anxiously sniffed the ground trying to catch any sort of scent from Storm. He seemed to be getting frustrated as he laid on the ground sadly. Lloyd walked up to him and patted him on the head reassuringly.

"Don't worry Noishe, we'll find her," he told him, trying his best to put on a confident face.

Kratos sighed when he heard this, knowing that the situation was beginning to look more grin with each passing second. If Storm was alive, then for every second longer it took them to find her, the closer she was most likely inching towards death.

Suddenly, Noishe's ears perked up and he sat up abruptly, looking farther down the beach. Kratos and Lloyd both looked at him before looking in the direction he was facing. Noishe took off running towards whatever he was sensing. Lloyd took off not too far behind him, wondering if he had actually picked up Storm's scent. Kratos followed behind the two, carrying Zelos with him as he went to investigate what was going on.

Up ahead was an old fisherman who was pulling in some of his catch from the day. He was probably in his upper sixties or early seventies. He had and old grizzly appearance with his gray hairs on his head and his gray beard. He looked to the travelers that hurriedly approached him and stopped what he was doing. Noishe ran up to the man and sniffed him all over as Lloyd and Kratos finally arrived.

"Woah, what can I do fer ye?" he asked as he looked to Lloyd, but didn't see that Kratos was holding Zelos in his arms.

"We were looking for someone. A young girl who fell off a cliff into the ocean. You haven't seen her anywhere on the beach have you?" Lloyd asked, rushing a little in his nervousness.

"A young girl, ye say?" he asked the two.

"Yes, she's my sister. She has auburn hair that comes a little below her shoulders and stands a little shorter than me. Have you seen her?" he asked once more kind of gesturing her height with his arms.

"Hmm...that's probably the young gal I found not too long ago," he said. "She's at my an my wife's house, she's in some bad shape, she is," he told the two.

Lloyd and Kratos' eyes grew wide at this information. "You...you mean she's alive," Lloyd asked in disbelief.

"Just barely, but yes. We found her wasked up on the shore all bruised and bloody. She was barely hanging on to her life. What happened?" he asked with concern in his voice. It was apparent that he pitied Storm, making the two wonder how bad she looked.

Kratos stepped out from behind Lloyd, Zelos in his arms, as he showed the fisherman some more results from what had happened. "The same thing that happened to him, but he was not so lucky unfortunately," Kratos replied. The old fisherman looked down in horror at the bloody form of Zelos, realizing that something terrible really had taken place.

"And who would he be?" he asked Kratos, looking back at the two.

"This is her husband and she will think he's still alive when she wakes up," Kratos told him sadly.

"How tragic," said the fisherman as he shook his head at the sight and the thought. After a few moments of silence the fisherman looked back at Lloyd and Kratos. "Come with me and I'll take ye to her," he told them as he began to walk up the beach.

A little ways off the shore of the beach was a small, but quaint little house. They could see smoke rising from the chimney as they walked towards it. Before they went in Kratos gently laid Zelos down outside, hoping that the shock of his death wouldn't be too much for Storm. The two walked inside, while Noishe waited outside.

Inside they were greeted by the fisherman's wife. She was a kind woman who was around the same age as her husband. She had grey hair and a sweet face with rosy cheeks. It looked as if she was someone who would normally smile quite a bit, but it was hard to smile at times like this.

"She's resting, but I think she'll be fine in time," his wife told them reassuringly as she let a warm small slightly spread across her face.

"Thank you for taking her in," Kratos told them as he walked past the two with Lloyd to see his daughter.

They walked slowly into the room and saw Storm lying on the bad, knocked out cold. She was barely moving and the only reason Kratos believed her to be alive was the gentle rising and falling of her chest every once in awhile. She was very pale and when he touched her she was like ice. She had apparently been in the water longer than she should have, but at least she was alive for the time being. He saw the bandages the old woman had made. There was one wrapped around her stomach and one on her back and along her shoulder. The wound on her shoulder was bleeding through the bandage itself, and would most likely need to be redone soon.

Kratos breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that she was still alive. He only hoped that she would make it through this whole ordeal. But, even if she could recover from her physical wounds, would she really be able to recover from the emotional ones that were sure to come soon. He wasn't sure if he would be able to comfort in the way she would need to be. Kratos began to walk out of the room, but was stopped when Lloyd questioned him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked quizzically.

"I'm going to find Yuan," he simply stated before he walked out of the house. "Stay here." he added before completely walking out.

As soon as he left Kratos walked back to Meltokio where he hoped he could find a Rheihard near Storm's house. He was sure that the two had at least one with all the traveling they had been doing lately. He walked through the town, his mind trying to completely process what had all happened, what had went wrong. How did Anna manage to appear and catch the two so completely off guard? Why did she try and kill her mother and actually kill her father? What was wrong with her?

Finally, he made it to their home where he found just what he was looking for. He knew that it was gonna be hard enough to explain this all to Storm, but Yuan was going to be a unique experience as well. He didn't really know exactly how he would take it. Technically there was an agreement between Zelos and Yuan that whenever Zelos died he wanted Storm to be with Yuan. He didn't want her to be alone. Whether Storm would do this under these circumstances was very questionable now. Would he be happy that he could finally be with her?

Kratos climbed on the Rhiehard and took off, heading towards the Flanoir Renegade Base to talk with Yuan. He did know that when Storm needed comfort he was going to be the person for her to go to.

Finally, after a relatively short trip, Kratos arrived at the base. He took a deep breath before walking in, questionable about how all of this was going to play out.

He walked in and was met by a few of the soldiers who led him to Yuan's office. Everyone in the hallways looked at him strangely, wondering why he had come without any notice. After receiving too many stares Kratos looked straight ahead, not paying attention to any of them.

The guard led him to Yuan's office and knocked on the door once before he entered. Kratos waited outside until the guard came back out and motioned for him to enter. Kratos stepped in slowly and watched as the guard slowly closed the door behind him.

"Why the sudden visit Kratos?" Yuan asked as he got up from his desk and went to the front of it. He leaned up against it casually as he looked at his friend.

"Something's happened Yuan," Kratos began, taking a breath when he thought about the scene he had come across.

Yuan stood more erectly as he looked at him with concern and worry on his face. "What happened to her?" he asked as he stared at Kratos, knowing that something had happened to Storm. Kratos just stared at him, trying to figure out how exactly to explain the whole situation to him.

The silence began to get to Yuan and he grew more worried about Storm's condition. It took a lot to get Kratos this upset and he was beginning to fear the worst. "Kratos, what happened?!" Yuan asked again with more urgency in his voice.

"Zelos and her were attacked. She made it out alive, but just barely. She hasn't woken up yet and we're not sure if she'll make it yet. Zelos though..." Kratos stopped here as he looked away from the half elf.

"He's not...is he...?" Yuan asked him quietly, afraid almost to hear the truth.

"He's dead," Kratos finished. "And Storm doesn't know about that yet," he informed him. Yuan used a hand to prop himself on the desk, trying to take in all the information. He thought silently for a moment before he got up and got some stuff together.

"What are you doing?" Kratos asked him.

"I'm going to see her. She's not going to die on me. I won't let her be murdered like Martel," Yuan said as he went towards Kratos, ready to go with him. After a few moments he spoke up again.

"Who was it that attacked them?"

"It was Anna. Lloyd and I found her just after she killed Zelos," he informed him.

"What?! I knew that she had resentment towards them, but I didn't think that she would kill her father and try and kill Storm!" he said, shocked at the answer.

"I don't think any of us thought that she would kill either of them," Kratos told him.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. Zelos wasn't supposed to be murdered. She was going to come with me, but he was going to live a full life. This will devastate her, I don't know if I can help any," Yuan said sadly at the thought of Storm when she would find out the news. He hoped he could help her get through it all, but he wasn't sure if he could.

With that the two left the Renegade base and made their way back to the small house by the ocean where Storm was still recovering.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. I know it wasn't too action packed this time, but hey I can't have it all be like that. Anyway, next chapter should come in a few days, but I won't promise anything because I have midterm exams here next week and I'm scared out of my mind about it. Anyway, thanks for all the threatening reviews last chapter, I'm kidding. Anyway, please review and thanks for reading. 


	7. Chapter 7: Heartache

Anyone out there still want to kill me? I don't know if it's safe to come out yet... Anyway, thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter and I really hope you all enjoy this next chapter as well. Sorry for anyone I haven't gotten to as far as replying goes, but I have been really busy studying for my midterm exams this upcoming week. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter.

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Chapter 7: Heartache

Yuan and Kratos arrived at the old house by the beach as they walked towards it. Noishe was still standing by Zelos, whining softly as the two walked by. He could tell that Storm was not doing well and he obviously knew that Zelos was past any help. Noishe was pretty close to Storm and had gotten close to Zelos as well. Yuan glanced in the direction of the animal, but shifted his gaze when he saw Zelos lying motionless on the ground. He couldn't help but worry about Storm.

Yuan walked into the home and could see that no one was there to greet them. Kratos led him to where Storm was sleeping, and it seemed as if everyone had congregated around her while they were gone. They looked at the two, worry written all over their faces.

"What's the matter?" Kratos asked, growing concerned at their group.

"Her fever is starting to come on. We've tried to cool her off. It was really bad, but I think she's actually coming down a little bit. Hopefully she'll make it through it. If she can make it through this fever then I believe that she will recover," the old woman said as she placed the rag on Storm's forehead into a small bucket lying on the ground. She placed it in the water, wrung it out, and placed it back onto Storm's face trying to cool her off the best she could.

Yuan walked up next to the bed and knelt down next to her, looking her over a bit, examining her all over. He couldn't help but beat himself up over the fact that he wasn't there to protect her. She was bandaged on her stomach and along her shoulder. He wondered how she allowed her daughter to even attack her. He then realized that her compassionate nature towards Anna was probably the reason for her defeat. He tenderly placed his hand over hers and his head on her chest.

"I'm so sorry...I should have been there...forgive me," Yuan said as he sat there, hoping she would wake up fine.

"Zelos...please stop...Zelos..." Storm started to mumble in her sleep. She was most likely having nightmares as she fought through her fever. Yuan looked up worriedly as he watched her squirm in her sleep, something obviously terrifying her.

_

* * *

Storm was standing in the woods, waiting. She didn't really know what she was waiting for, but she knew that she was waiting for something. Suddenly, Zelos appeared in front of her. When she saw him she ran to him, excited that he was the one who was there and that it wasn't someone else. She hugged him tightly and felt the warmth of him body flow through her._

_Soon, though, she was pushed backwards by him as he pulled out his sword and sliced into her stomach. She stared at him sadly as he pulled the sword out of her side and kicked her on the ground._

_"No...Zelos...stop it...Zelos..." she cried as she saw him lift the sword above his head, ready to strike her once more. But suddenly, Zelos changed and it was Anna standing over her, laughing at her pain. _

_"Anna? Don't do it!" she yelled, but before she could get out another word Anna brought the sword down, towards her neck._

* * *

"No!" Storm screamed as she forcefully snapped her eyes open and sat up in bed. She

was sweating and breathing heavily as she stared around at her surroundings. She tried to recollect what exactly had happened, but soon noticed that Yuan, Kratos, and Lloyd were around her.

"Storm, it's all right. You're safe now and Anna is gone," Kratos assured her.

"Anna?" Storm had forgotten for a moment. She actually had battled Anna, it wasn't just a dream. She looked down and saw the bandage over her stomach and felt the one on her shoulder and back. This was when another concern came to her mind.

"Where's Zelos? Is he okay?" she asked anxiously, concern running through her being. She wanted to see him, to work out all the things she had said and done when she thought he had attacked her.

Everyone in the room grew silent with her question. They all began to look away from her, no one wanting to be the one to tell her the terrible news. She stared at them, her heartbeat getting faster with each passing second.

"What's the matter? Someone tell me something!" she cried to them, beginning to get desperate. Kratos stood up and walked over to his daughter, sitting on the bed next to her. He decided that he would be the one to tell her the bad news. He took a deep breath and sighed loudly before he began. He gently placed a hand on her good shoulder as he spoke to her.

"Storm...we got there...and Zelos...he was...murdered by Anna..." he told her looking, down with the end of his sentence.

Storm stopped, trying to process what he was saying. She stared at them all before a small smirk spread over her face and she giggled a little. "You're joking, right?" she laughed. "Where's Zelos, have him come out. I'm not going to fall for that one," she told them all. She looked up and saw that no one's face had really changed, if anything they appeared more grim. Her laughing slowly started to let up as she began to shake her head in disbelief.

"Storm...he's not lying," Lloyd said almost in a whisper.

"No...no!" Storm yelled as she shook her head, more violently this time. "I don't believe you!" she screamed out.

"Storm..." Yuan sighed as he tried to grab her hand.

"Let me go! This is a really cruel joke!" she yelled as she yanked herself away from his touch. She stared at her father, eyes wide and tears forming in them.

"Storm...I'm so sorry," Kratos said sadly.

"Stop saying things like that! It's not true! Stop it! Stop it!" Storm said as she beat on his chest when she finally realized that he wasn't lying to her. She beat on his chest for a few seconds repeating herself until finally all that could be heard was her sobbing as she weakly continued to hit Kratos. Kratos gently put an arm onto her back.

Finally, after she had finally caught her breath she looked up at them all. "Where is he?" she asked hoarsely.

* * *

Yuan helped Storm outside as Lloyd and Kratos followed. They took her to where Noishe was laying, next to Zelos' body. Storm walked around the corner of the house and what she saw broke her very soul into a thousand pieces.

"No!" she cried as her legs gave out under her at his lifeless body, still covered in the blood from the battle. Yuan struggled to hold her up when she suddenly collapsed. "Why did this have to happen to him?" she screamed, her voice squeaking at her first words.

She began to cry so hard that she could barely even catch her breath as she attempted to get up and go see him. Yuan helped her stand as he walked the sobbing girl towards her late husband. He let her arm go as she knelt next to Zelos placed a hand on his now cold cheek. She wrapped herself around him, burying her head into his chest and sobbing heavily.

"Why couldn't it have been me?" she sobbed quietly into his chest. "I'm so sorry," she added at the end as she reached for his hand.

No one was really sure how to handle the situation, but after receiving some sort of gesture from Kratos, Yuan went over to try and comfort Storm. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Storm, I'm so sorry..." he said quietly.

"Please, just leave me alone," she said coldly in between sobs, not even looking at him. "You wouldn't understand."

This broke Yuan's heart into pieces to hear her speak so coldly to him, to be so heartbroken. He didn't know if he could handle this. Yes, she was alive, but the way she was she may as well have been dead. He removed his hand from her shoulder and got up. He backed over to where Kratos was standing and looked away from him. He didn't want his friend to see the pain on his face.

"Storm, we need to put him to rest, you know that," Kratos told her softly. "You should be resting yet," he added when he looked once more at her condition.

"Cremation," she said sadly, stopping her crying for a few seconds. "We would always look out at the ocean while we flew on the Rheihards. It's the best place for him," she informed them.

"Lloyd, go and find the others while Yuan and I prepare things here," Kratos said lowly as he walked away to get things ready. He really didn't think he'd get Storm away from her husband at this point. She did deserve some time with him before he was gone.

Yuan looked at Storm for a few seconds before joining Kratos. It seemed as though the plans they had made in the past to get together one day where crashing down in front of him. He couldn't blame her either, neither had expected things to turn out like this. He didn't want things to happen like this. He hated seeing her so heartbroken and he hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to help her. He soon left to help Kratos prepare for the cremation and funeral that was coming soon.

Storm stayed with Zelos, not moving from the spot she had found. She continued to sob into his chest, checking to make sure that she couldn't feel that familiar beating of his heart that she had gorwn so accustomed to hearing over the years. She couldn't believe that he was really gone, that he was out of her life. She didn't want to believe it. What was she going to do without him? She knew that she didn't feel right unless he was there with her. What was the point anymore?

She sat up a little as she looked down at him. She took her hand and stoked his cheek a little, wishing that he would wake up and let her know that it was all a joke, but the large wound on his body made her realize that it wasn't going to happen. She leaned over, bringing her face closer to his.

"I can't live without you," she whispered gently before she kissed him on the cheek, a tear sliding off her own.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter. You know, as I was writing this I was trying to picture the scene in my mind before I wrote it like always, and I must say I was tearing up. Anyway, thanks for reading and putting up with my crazy ideas for so long now. Well, thanks for reading and please remember to review as well! 


	8. Chapter 8: Hollow

Well, now that everyone, including myself, has recuperated from the last chapter it's time for the next one. I know this is a depressing story, but bear with me. There is something important at the end and I will need everyone's opinions so please keep going through this story. So, with that in mind, time for the next chapter.

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Chapter 8: Hollow 

Lloyd returned followed by the rest of their group. Everyone there were all heartbroken with the passing of their comrade. Considering the situation that caused his premature death, everyone was especially depressed when they arrived. They all arrived and were met by Yuan and Kratos who had everything prepared for the funeral.

Raine came up first and hugged both of them before looking around a bit. "Where is Storm?" she asked sadly when she couldn't find any sign of her anywhere.

"It seems that she ran off somewhere," Kratos said as he looked around, realizing that she was gone. He looked over to Yuan who shrugged his shoulders. Kratos motioned for him with a twitch of his head to go and find her. She needed some sort of comforting and couldn't sit and wallow in her grief by herself. He wasn't sure if he trusted her being alone completely at a time like this.

"I just can't believe that Anna would actually do something this horrible," Genis said as he looked to the ground sadly. It was apparent that the entire party was still in shock from the news.

"I know, I can't either. She won't be getting away with that so easily though," Kratos told them.

"You mean that we're going to go after her? We're going to attack your granddaughter?" Sheena asked wildly, shocked that this was the course of action the group was deciding on.

"Well, it seems as if she is not to be trusted. I don't want her to end up like another Mithos," he explained to her, emphasizing the importance of finding her.

"This is all my fault..." Sutra whispered quietly under her breath as she looked to the ground sadly.

Yuan went off to look for Storm as Kratos greeted the rest of the party. He hoped that Storm hadn't done anything drastic while they weren't watching her. Why would she run off when her husband's funeral was about to begin? This would be her last chance to say goodbye, she had to be there. He walked through the woods that were behind the house, hoping that she ran in there for some sort of privacy.

* * *

Storm was sitting deep in the forest under a tree as she began to cry once again. She was beginning to think that she didn't even have any tears left to cry, but yet she always, managed to continue crying. Her eyes, red and swollen, burned as the tears made their way down her face. She was definitely depressed, she didn't want to keep going on living. Everything seemed meaningless at this point. First, her daughter betrayed her and tried to kill her, but then she actually went and killed Zelos. She thought the pain of being betrayed by Anna was hard enough, but it couldn't compare to Zelos losing his life to her. She couldn't help but feel angry and she didn't know why. 

_"You know that it's all their faults..."_

Storm stopped crying and wondered if she was beginning to hear things. It sounded like Mithos was speaking to her. This voice wasn't the voice of the kinder Mithos that she had finally put to rest not long ago, but rather the dark and evil Yggdrasil that haunted her during her childhood and beyond. He was back in her mind and was beginning to work at taking her over again. She realized this was why she was feeling so angry.

"Who's fault?" she asked out loud, wondering what he was talking about. She took a gasp of breath as she attempted to slow down her sobbing.

_"Everyone's. Your father, Lloyd, and Yuan...they weren't there to stop her. They said they didn't make it in time, but they did. They just didn't want to hurt Anna. You knew she was out of control, but they didn't want to stop her."_

"Why would they let him die?" she asked quietly. "I don't believe that," she added at the end.

_"Look deep down, you know you believe it. Yuan was jealous, wasn't he? There was an agreement that you two would get together when Zelos passed on. Kratos trusts his best friend more than the failed Chosen of Tethe'alla. Why would they care about his life?"_

"No! You're lying you bastard! Get out of my head!" Storm screamed as she held her head. She hated that he was in control when her emotions were already very weak. She couldn't handle all this, not now.

_"Fine...a little longer grieving, but I'll be back Storm."_

Finally, things seemed back to normal. She wasn't as angry anymore and Mithos' voice was gone. She would have been happy if the fact that Zelos was dead didn't come back into her mind. She was in this forest and he was about to be cremated, his funeral close. She didn't know if she could go through with it all, she wanted to give up and join him. It pained her too much to even think of living without him.

"Storm..." she spun around at the mention of her name, jumping a little in surprise.

When she saw Yuan standing behind her she turned back around and buried her face in her hands, not wanting him to see her tear stained face and swollen eyes. Besides this, seeing him reminded her of the fact that everyone was waiting for her to begin the funeral.

"Go away, I don't want to come," she said, muffled through her hands.

"Storm, you know you should come," Yuan sighed as he came closer to her, his voice softening at her condition.

"Why should I come? I don't think I can, it's too hard," she told him, wanting to know if there was any way she could escape it.

"Storm, it's your last chance to say goodbye. If you don't come now, you'll regret it forever," he told her as he touched her shoulder gently.

"Fine, I'll come," Storm replied coldly as she got up quickly, distancing herself from Yuan and walking back towards the house.

Yuan watched her walking away, wishing that he could do something to help get rid of her pain. She seemed to be getting much colder towards him, and he hated seeing that side of her. He snapped out of his thoughts as he hurried to get back to the house for the funeral.

* * *

Storm finally made it to the house. All conversation stopped as everyone looked at her as she walked to where Zelos had been placed. She blew past everyone, eyes hollow, as she walked past them. Sheena attempted to touch Storm's shoulder to comfort her, but Storm moved her shoulder to get away from Sheena as she continued to walk past her. Sheena pulled her hand to her chest as she watched her friend walk to the area where Zelos was. 

Zelos was placed in an area where he was ready to be cremated. He was on top of a pile of hay that was to be burned and the area was surrounded by sand from the beach nearby. Storm walked over and placed her hand on his chest. She stared at his face once more before she bent over and kissed his cheek.

"Goodbye Zelos, I can't wait until the day we're reunited," she said quietly as she walked over to get ready for the cremation to begin.

Everyone took their places for the funeral to begin. Kratos looked over at his daughter sadly before he came up to her. "Is there anything that you think needs to be said before we begin?" he asked her.

"No, he speaks for himself. I don't want to hear any of it," she said without even looking at him.

Kratos sighed before he walked back over to where Zelos was at. Lloyd walked on the other side of Zelos, down by his feet. The old woman from the house brought two sticks, lit from the fireplace in their home, for them to begin the process. Kratos thanked her as he and Lloyd each took a stick.

"Goodbye Zelos, you were a good friend," Lloyd said under his breath as he threw the stick on top of the pile, followed soon after by Kratos' own stick.

Storm watched as the hay caught on fire, Zelos along with it. She felt it, the tears coming to her eyes again. She couldn't hold them back, she didn't want to. She fell to her knees and began sobbing out loud. Kratos saw her and ran to her to help her. He wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest.

"No...he can't leave me...no..." she cried as she leaned farther into her father, finally accepting someone's comfort.

"I know...I'm sorry Storm..." he told her as he stroked her hair, trying his best to soothe her, but he really didn't feel as if he was too good at consoling his daughter. He, after all, could barely handle Anna's death and he didn't think that he was one who knew how to make her feel better. He still was trying to get over it even this very day. He wanted to make her pain go away, but he couldn't if he couldn't get rid of his own.

After awhile the cremation was finally completed and all that was left was to spread his remains out in the ocean as Storm had wished. Storm went with the entire group, her father supporting her. She was very weak physically from her crying and her injuries, and was drained emotionally from the events from the last few days. She was going to see this through no matter how painful it was.

The entire group, save Raine, climbed on board of an EC as they began to travel into the ocean. Lloyd was holding a small jar which held Zelos' ashes as he prepared to finish out the ceremony. This was very painful for him because he had grown especially close to his brother in law and he really didn't want to be the one to spread his remains. He had to remain strong through this entire thing for Storm. As her big brother he had to stay strong to help her through it all. He took a deep breath, knowing what he had to do.

Soon, the EC stopped and everyone made their way to one side of the ship. They stared down into the water as Lloyd slowly began to sprinkle the remains on the water.

Storm began to stare into the water as she watched Zelos' ashes gently land on the water, some more blowing farther along in the ocean. Her mind was so drained and she felt so depressed as she stared into the water, her eyes hollow. She didn't think she could handle being without him. She knew that she couldn't, she had to be with him.

Just as Lloyd sprinkled the last of the remains into the water Storm fell completely forward, off the EC, and into the water. Everyone watched in shock as she hit the water and began to sink towards the bottom. Bubbled came up, letting everyone know what she was attempting to do.

"Storm! No!" Sheena cried as she watched her sinking towards the ocean's bottom.

She could finally be free, she could be with Zelos and have no more pain. She was tired of all the pain in her life and she wanted to make it go away. She released her breath slowly as she began to sink into the watery abyss that would soon become her tomb along with Zelos. She watched as she began to see the EC disappear before things began to go dark.

"Damn it Storm," Yuan growled as he jumped into the ocean without a second thought. He dove in and swam after the dark figure that was going deeper and deeper into the cold water. Finally, he caught up and grabbed her arm, pulling her up until he could grab her around her waist. He swam up to the surface as fast as he could, hoping that he wouldn't be too slow.

Finally, they hit the surface as air filled his lungs. He lifted Storm out of the water as far as he could as Lloyd and Kratos grabbed her from under her arms and pulled her back onboard. Kratos laid her on the deck, waiting for her to breath. When she didn't he began to push on her chest to get some of the water out. Lloyd helped Yuan out of the water as everyone gathered around to see what the fate of their friend would be. Yuan began to pace behind the group, hoping for something, he couldn't handle losing her, not now, not like this.

Suddenly, Storm began to cough, bringing Yuan out of his pacing as he pushed through the group towards Storm. Storm coughed out some water as she groggily opened her eyes. When she did, she seemed a little disappointed with what she saw. This wasn't exactly where she was expecting to wake at.

"Storm, why would you do that!?" Yuan yelled at her. "Why would you try and kill yourself? How stupid is that!? Don't you _dare_ try and throw your life away like that again!" Yuan yelled at her.

Storm barely reacted to his words as she squinted her eyes and turned away from him. When she did this Yuan grabbed her chin and pulled her to face him.

"Don't look away from me Storm!" he yelled at her as she stared a him, seeing that he was completely soaked. She knew who had rescued her. She glared at him, getting angrier at his actions and his words.

She smacked his hand off of her chin, causing him to reel back in surprise a bit. "Don't touch me," she growled. She slowly got to her feet as she went down inside the EC so she could be alone. "Everyone just let me do what I want with my own damn life," she remarked to the entire group as she walked away from them, not even turning to face them.

"This is bad," Lloyd pointed out once she was gone. Yuan sat on the ground as he watched where she had left.

"Storm..."Yuan said as he shifted his gaze down to the ground sadly.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. Of course, it's still not happy I know, but like I said just bear with me. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I hope you liked this chapter as well. Thanks and please remember to review. 


	9. Chapter 9: Over

Well, I know that this is still depressing, but don't get too excited because that doesn't mean I'm gonna make it happier now. I mean, Zelos died, you can't expect me to make it all happy right away, right? Right. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate everyone's input in this story, let's me know how I'm doing. Thanks and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Oh and for reference _italics_ are Mithos' voice and **_bold italics _**are Storm's thoughts.

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Chapter 9: Over

It had been about two weeks since Zelos' funeral had taken place. Everyone had returned to what they had been doing, trying to move past the tragedy. Everyone was trying to move on, everyone except Storm. No one could really blame her for being upset and depressed, but the extent of her depression and rage were beginning to worry some of them.

Yuan had completely avoided her during these two weeks, knowing that she was the angriest at him at that moment. He didn't want to make her angrier and he thought he would give her some time to cool off and think things out. Hopefully she would some day appreciate the fact that he had saved her from a stupid mistake. He knew that Zelos wouldn't have wanted her to end her life after he was gone.

He couldn't keep himself away from her for too long though, not after Kratos called him telling about her strange behavior. Yuan could understand her being upset and depressed, but when he heard she was taking her anger out on those around her and not even coming out of the house he began to grow worried. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one and he wanted to help her through it. Maybe not as a lover, but at least as friend. He wanted to be there for her. It was with these thoughts that he left to pay her a visit.

When he arrived in Meltokio he was met by Kratos who walked him to her house. It was on this walk that he further explained the situation.

"Lloyd had tried to help her through all this, but she pushed him away. She told him that it was his fault that Zelos was gone, that he never liked him and wouldn't have saved him from Anna if he was on time," Kratos explained. Yuan's eyes grew wide when he heard this news. This was not like the Storm that he knew. She was usually one to blame herself, not others. This was a unique situation indeed and something was terribly going wrong.

"You had said that she was angry, but you also said she had some really extreme depression," Yuan said, urging Kratos to continue with his explanation.

"Well, she still cries almost all the time. If she's not yelling at someone she's completely alone in that house. She sits in there by herself and cries and sighs around the house. She's making herself sick. Her maids say that she hardly eats and hardly sleeps. She only does when her exhaustion catches up to her and she can't stay up anymore. She only eats after she can't stand it anymore and she only eats a little then," Kratos told him.

"Well, it doesn't sound like she's going back into her emotionless state that she's had before. She still needs the sleep and she still needs the food. I can see her being depressed, but she's going to kill herself at this rate," Yuan said as he thought the situation over a bit.

"I hope you can talk some sense into her," Kratos said as they arrived to the house. He took him to the door as he knocked on the door. "She's pushed everyone else away, you're our last chance to bring her out of this," he told him.

Soon, a servant answered the door as he gestured for Kratos and Yuan to come inside. Kratos declined the invitation as he patted Yuan on the back before leaving him at the house. Yuan sat down on a couch as the servant went to go and get Storm for him. Yuan noticed that the servant sighed as he told him that he would fetch her, almost as if he really wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

Storm was sitting in her room staring at the wall as she thought things over once again. She'd lost track of how many times her mind tried to process the events leading up to Zelos' death. She couldn't understand why Anna had actually done the unthinkable, why she had actually murdered her father and tried to murder her as well. She really wished that it would have been her instead of him that would have been at the other end of Anna's sword.

_"Why are you thinking like that again? It wasn't your fault, it was everyone else's. Think about it, who made Anna angry with you in the first place?"_

"Well, Sutra was the one that told her we had lied to her," Storm said as she thought it over.

_"And you both were planning on telling her anyway, correct?"_

"Yeah, we had finally decided to let her know the truth not too long before Sutra kidnaped her," Storm answered.

_"And Yuan wanted to be with you, right? And Kratos obviously likes Yuan more than he ever liked Zelos. He was his friend for four thousand years after all." _

"That's true," Storm replied after thinking it over a little.

_"Then blame it on them, make them suffer...not you. You don't need them anyway."_

"My lady, Yuan is here to visit with you," her servant said as he came into her room causing her to snap out of her trance.

"And what makes you believe that I want to even see him?" Storm asked bitterly.

"Well...I was just telling you that he was here," the servant replied meekly.

"Well, you can tell him that he can leave," she spat back.

"Yes my lady," the servant replied sadly as he bowed to her and left to tell Yuan her message.

**_"Do I really want him to leave though?" _**Storm thought as she watched the servant leave.

_"He's just going to try and get you back together with him. He doesn't care about Zelos' death."_

"Yuan..." Storm sighed as she placed her head in her hands and sighed loudly.

* * *

"She said what?" Yuan asked the servant once more. He couldn't believe that she wouldn't even see him. He wanted to help her, and he wasn't going to let her just push him away. If he walked out now, he would be giving up the fight. He would be pushing her closer to her death, and he couldn't do that to her no matter how much she didn't want to see him.

Yuan stood up and walked through the house. The servant ran towards him, trying to stop him, afraid that Storm would become angry with him if he allowed the half-elf to continue inside. Yuan shoved him to the side, making his way into her bedroom, throwing the door open.

"Yuan!" Storm cried out in surprise as the door flung open, revealing the Renegade leader.

"Storm, why do you keep pushing me away? Can't you see that I only want to help?" he asked her, a little irritated at her behavior.

"Yuan..." she said softly as she stared at him.

_"Don't let him fool you. Remember what his true intention are and what they were. It's his fault too you know."_

"I suppose you just want me to forget about him like all the others. I suppose you think I'll just fly into your arms and that we'll be together now," she said coldly to him.

"No, no one wants you to forget Zelos. There's no way that I'd want you to ever forget him. I just want you to realize that you're hurting yourself and everyone around you with how you're acting," he explained to her.

_"But he does want you...that's what's on his mind. He doesn't truly care about Zelos or your pain. He's selfish."_

"But you do want to be together with me?" she asked him, a little more calmly. Unfortunately for Yuan she was doing this to prove what Mithos was saying to her.

"Of course I want to be with you, I care about you. I just want to help you through this. I want to help you get rid of the pain," he told her.

"So, you do only care about being with me! You don't really care that Zelos is dead! I wouldn't surprised if you were happy that he's gone. You'd be happy because now there's nothing between the two of us," she yelled at him. Yuan flinched a little at her sudden outburst and the anger that bled into her words.

Yuan stepped towards her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. "Listen, I did care about Zelos' death. We all did. I wanted to be with you someday Storm, but I didn't want to be together because Zelos was murdered," Yuan told her, almost growling at her anger.

Storm pulled her arm away from him angrily as she glared at him, rage coursing through her being. She couldn't control it much longer, Mithos had a tight grip on her mind and she couldn't escape it. She stared at him, looking at him with disgust and disbelief.

"So, are you another illusion made by Anna, or does the real Yuan actually hate me?" she spat at him, with hate running deeply in her words.

_"That's it."_

Those words ate at Yuan's heart and soul, deeply hurting him. He took a step slowly towards her. He couldn't believe that she wouldn't even listen to him. He couldn't look her in the eyes, afraid of the hatred that he might see there. If he had looked into them he would have noticed that they contained none of the emotion they normally would. Her eyes were completely hollow at that point, her mind was being consumed by Mithos.

"Storm..." he said sadly as he reached out for her again sadly.

Storm moved away from his touch. "Get out of here Yuan. Don't you get it already?" she asked him.

"Get what?" he asked confusedly, not sure where she was going with this.

"It's over. We're not going to be together so stop trying make it happen," she said softly as she looked to the ground.

"What? You can't be serious," he asked in disbelief. Could this actually be happening to him?

_"There it is! That is all he cares about!" _

"Get out! We're over!" she said as she lifted her head to glare at him, screaming at him. Yuan backed off at her screaming. He had never felt like this in his life. To have the person that he loved and cared for show such hatred towards him, it broke him apart.

"If that is what you truly wish," he whispered as he turned and finally left the house.

Once Storm heard the door close she finally felt Mithos release his hold over her. She collapsed to her knees and stared at the wall.

"What have I done?" she asked herself before burying her face in her hands and sobbing at her new loss.

Yuan walked out of the house, staring at it once more before he left the city completely. Even though she had told him it was over, he was determined to get her back. She was in trouble, her rage was so unlike her and he had to find out what was wrong. He wanted to help her, and he wasn't going to let her rage push him out completely. He'd be back in time.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. Lots of angst and drama, my favorite to write for some reason. Don't know why because people who know me personally think I am one of the happiest people on the face of the earth. Not much makes me angry or depressed so even I don't understand why I like writing angst so much. Maybe because I don't have any angst in my life...hmmm...I don't really know. So, don't think I'm an angry person or something from my writing, okay?? All right, well please review and tell me what you think. Yes, there is more to this story. There is quite a bit left to this story actually. Anyway, review and thanks for reading!! 


	10. Chapter 10: Running Away

Sorry for the long wait, but I had my exams this week and I'm finally getting around to typing this up. Anyway, exams were bad and I'm hoping I didn't do as horrible as I thought I did. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10: Running Away 

It had been a long time since Yuan had seen Storm. He wasn't sure at this point if he really wanted to be around her, or maybe it was the fact that she didn't want to be around him. The fact of the matter was that it had been about a year since he had even seen her. The other issue that had come up that prevented him from seeing her was something that Kratos had told him a few months back. Storm had run out of Meltokio without anyone knowing where she was going or that she was going at all. Storm had run away and no one had seen her since. Kratos was worried about her, but Lloyd had kept him from going too insane. Storm was tough and could take of herself pretty easily, but no one really understood what she was running away from.

After a year of not seeing Storm, Yuan had had enough. He had to see her and he was going to go out and find her, even if she didn't want him to find her. He was going to see her and he had his mind made up about that. He left the Triet Renegade base as he set out to find her. He decided to begin his search in Triet and see if anyone had found her or seen her anywhere.

As he walked into the desert town he couldn't help but think of Storm. Her comments about how she would rather live in the Triet base than the Flanoir base made him wish that she were there at that moment. He was able to take Flanoir our of his list of places to look for her at. There was no way with her hatred of the cold that she would live there. He walked through the town, asking a lot of the people he saw in the streets if they had seen her. He gave them all her description, but no one seemed to have seen her. One man, though, told him to go and ask the fortune teller on the other side of town if she knew anything.

Yuan made his way to this fortune teller, not really thinking she would no anything about Storm either, but decided that it couldn't really hurt to try. He walked into the tent and began to wonder if it was such a good idea to come in the first place. The place was so strange feeling and he couldn't help but feel strange as the woman turned to him. Yuan wasn't one who believed in this kind of thing, but he was up for it if it held any sort of chance of working.

"Ah...come in, come in," the woman beckoned as Yuan came in completely to the tent. He sat down on a chair that she had sitting in a corner as he brought it closer to her table. "You come seeking knowledge, correct?" she asked. "Knowledge about someone very close to you?" she added at the end.

"That's right," Yuan said, a little surprised that the woman had figured that much out on her own. "A very good friend of mine...she's missing," Yuan told her.

"Yes, yes...a _very_ good friend of yours. I know, I know. Let me see...I'm sure you want to find her then," the woman said. Yuan had a look of shock on his face as soon as he realized this woman realized he was talking about a woman, and that they were very close. He nodded his head as the woman closed her eyes and began to concentrate. "Hmmm...very interesting..." the woman said softly before she opened her eyes.

"What's interesting? Do you know where she is?" Yuan asked anxiously.

The woman chuckled a bit. "For someone who didn't believe in this when you came in you seem to believe in me now," she said as she smiled at him. Yuan couldn't believe it, she knew that he didn't trust her at first. "Your friend is in a small village near a large body of water."

Yuan thought for a few moments before he finally realized what she was talking about. "That has to be Izoold," he said as he got off his chair and threw some money on the table.

"She seems distressed somehow. This is not a normal distressed either. Not anger, not depression, not loneliness, but distress. I cannot explain this feeling," the woman said.

Yuan looked at her, hoping that there wasn't something terribly wrong with Storm. She hadn't been acting quite like herself and now he was beginning to worry about her. But now he had a place to start. He thanked the woman and ran out to head to Izoold.

* * *

Storm headed back to the small cottage that she was renting out. It was getting windier and it looked like it could storm at any second. She wanted to get home before she ended up being caught in the rain.She had just gotten back from unloading the day's catch from one of the fishing boats at the dock and she was tired. She had to admit that she kind of enjoyed the small town life, but she couldn't enjoy it like she wanted to. He was still hanging over her, trying to get into her thoughts and get her to go back.

She had to run away. Every time she saw someone she knew and cared for Mithos' voice would come back and try to take over. She was afraid that he would completely gain control of her body and she would do something horrible to someone she loved. She didn't want to see anyone die again. She couldn't bear the thought. So, one night, she packed some stuff and left Meltokio without telling a single soul. She made it to Izoold where she found a cottage to rent out and her job so she could support herself. She didn't need a big job, Zelos had left her enough that she could have easily supported herself, but she didn't want any of the villagers to wonder where she had gotten so much money from. She wanted to fit in. She was afraid of causing a lot of trouble, afraid that he would get back in her mind and make it worse. But she was content except for the fact that she was constantly in fear of losing control, but she felt as long as she didn't see anyone she knew, or got to close to anyone here, she would be all right.

As she was walking along, she heard the villagers begin getting all excited over something. She looked over to where some of them were pointing and saw none other than Yuan talking to one of the villagers. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that he had been looking for her and had managed to find the right village. She ran behind a sign and hid, hoping that he wouldn't see her and would leave. It killed her to hide from him, but it was for his own good that he didn't see her.

She peeked out and saw that someone was pointing him towards her house. She watched as he walked towards her home and began to desperately knock on the door. She wanted to see him so badly, but she knew that she couldn't.

_"Why don't you go over and see him? You know you want to..."_

"No, I thought I got rid of you..." Storm cried under her breath. He came back and he was going to try and take over. She wasn't going to let him hurt Yuan too. She wanted to get away, but she couldn't let Yuan see her.

"Oh never mind, she's over here," someone called out as they pointed to where she was hiding. Storm looked at them, terrified as she got up and ran. She ran into the woods nearby. When she got up from behind the sign she saw as Yuan looked right at her before she was gone. She heard the roll of thunder as the rain began to come down while she ran into the woods.

"Storm!" she could hear him calling for her as she ran past the trees, looking for some place to hide from him. Finally, she saw a small cave in the distance. It could get her out of the downpour and provide a place to hide at the same time. She made it to the cave as she ran in, hoping that Yuan didn't actually try and find her. She realized that once she ran, Mithos' voice was finally gone.

Storm shivered a little as she wrung out her hair and some of her clothes. She was soaked and now cold to add to it. She thought she was safe after a few minutes, thinking that Yuan had given up the chase. Suddenly, a crack of lightning lit up the cave for a second as a figure appeared in the entrance of the cave. Storm squeaked out as she realized that Yuan had, in fact, found her. She backed up farther in the cave as Yuan made his way towards her.

"Storm, what is the matter with you?" he asked as he came over to her. It wasn't completely dark outside because it was just in the afternoon, but it was getting harder to see. Storm stood up as she kept backing away from him.

"I told you to leave me alone!" she yelled at him. He took another step towards her when he realized that she had reached the back of the cave. It wasn't a very deep cave and she had run out of room to run. She was going to have to face him eventually, she just didn't want to face him.

"Storm...you can't expect me not to worry about you. You disappeared, what did you think I was going to do?" he asked her as he came even closer.

_"He didn't worry about you, he just wanted to get back together. He thinks that you've forgotten Zelos already. Doesn't that make you upset?"_

"Did you think that this all was going to come easily for me? Geez, you're always in such a rush to get back together," she yelled at him, Mithos was winning against her.

"That's not what I'm here for Storm. I want you to come back. Your father and all your friends are worried about you, and I was too," he told her as he reached out to embrace her. She pushed herself farther against the wall as he tried to come closer to her. Yuan moved back when he saw her reaction, she seemed almost afraid of him, but she couldn't figure out why.

_"Kill him!"_

_**"No, I can't...I won't..."**_ Storm thought, but she watched as her body began to betray her. She slowly began to reach towards her sword.

"Storm?" Yuan asked her softly as he watched her hand slowly go to her sword. Why would she try to hurt him even if she upset with his actions, this was nothing like Storm. Something was terribly wrong with her and he wanted to help her through it.

"Run away..." she struggled to say to him as her hand reached the hilt of her sword. She grabbed the sword and could hear it rattle in the sheath as her hand shook. She was using all her will power to try and fight Mithos' power.

_"Damned wench, do it!"_

_**"No...I won't...stop it..." **_Storm thought, but realized that Mithos' hold was finally in control as her sword was pulled from the sheath. Yuan jumped back just in time as she swung at him.

"Storm, stop this," he said as he jumped back and grabbed her sword. She pulled back from him, pulling out of his grasp before jumping back at him once again with the sword. She managed to slice through his outfit, not cutting into him though, right by his chest.

"Storm, I really am sorry for what happened to Zelos, but you shouldn't let that make you hate everyone around you," he told her. "I love you and I won't let you do this to yourself, I care about you too much," he told her. "And I won't run away anymore from you," he finished as he stopped moving, knowing that she could kill him, but he wanted her to know that he didn't care anymore. He couldn't stand seeing her like that anymore.

_"Do it now!! Kill him!!"_

_**"No!! I love him!!! Now, get out of my head!!!" **_Storm thought before she slammed herself against the cave wall. She cried out from the force of her impact but went ahead and slammed into it once again. Soon, she began to slam her arm into the wall, hoping to knock the sword out. She cried out in pain every time, but she just couldn't get herself to let go of the sword.

Yuan stared in horror as he watched Storm throwing herself into the wall. It tore him to pieces to hear her cries of pain and he wondered exactly what she was going through that made her do this. "Storm, stop it!" he called to her, but she paid no attention as she clenched her teeth and threw her arm even harder into the wall.

_"Damned wench!!"_

Finally, the sword flew out of Storm's hand with one more crash into the wall. It clattered on the ground as Storm stood still, panting heavily. She wobbled a bit before she began to fall. Yuan saw her and ran to catch her as he held her up to support her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as he placed her head into his chest.

"It's gone...Mithos' voice has finally stopped..." she whispered as she buried her head deeper into his chest.

Yuan slid to the ground, his back against the cave wall as Storm went down with him. He put her on his lap and her head on his chest as he stroked her hair trying to calm her breathing. She was still breathing hard and he wanted to relax her a bit.

"I'm so sorry..." she whimpered softly.

"I should be saying that I'm sorry. I couldn't realize that there was something wrong with you..." Yuan replied as he rested his head on top of hers. "We should get you back to see your father," he finally said once she had finally relaxed.

She slowly nodded her head as he helped her up. She had some trouble standing up and he went to grab her arm. When he grabbed it she whimpered in pain. He brought his back and looked at her to see what was wrong.

"I...I think it's broken..." she whispered still feeling the pain of the injury. "I'm okay...really..."

"No you're not. We'll get Raine or Kratos to heal it for you. We need to get back there," he said as he reached under her and scooped her up to carry her.

"I don't need to be carried for a broken arm!" Storm yelled at him.

Yuan smirked a little. That sounded like the Storm he knew. "I know, but I don't want to let you go," he said.

Storm smiled at this and didn't fight him anymore. It felt good to be held and cared for by someone again. She wouldn't complain, not this time at least.

* * *

Okay, well that's the end of this chapter. Oh, and this story isn't over yet. I know it sounds like it but there is more. After all, we gotta find out about Anna. Mithos was just a distraction, right?? Anyway, thanks for all the reviews again...you are all awesome. Anyway, thanks and please remember to review!! 


	11. Chapter 11: Recovering

Okay, time for the next chapter, right? Well, here it is for everyone. I hope that you're all enjoying this. Thanks for the reviews. Anyway, it's been a couple days since I updated so I figured I'd update. Not too many reviews for the last one, so I'll try to make this one better. Anyway, thanks and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 11: Recovering

Yuan carried Storm back to the Rheihard where they flew back to Meltokio. Of course, when they got there he picked her up once again, and she struggled a bit once again. Yuan wouldn't hear anything different as he continued to carry her all the way back to her father's house. Her arm needed to be fixed and he could do it for her. Besides, Yuan knew he'd be happy to see her alive and back to her normal self.

Once they got to his house, Yuan gently set Storm down on the ground before he knocked loudly on the door. After a few moments Kratos slowly opened the door. He looked at Yuan and rolled his eyes, but soon his eyes drifted to the girl beside him. His eyes grew wide when he saw his daughter standing in front of him.

"Storm..." Kratos whispered, shocked that she had returned.

"Dad...I'm so sorry..." she replied just as quietly before she ran into him, hugging him tightly. Kratos didn't quite know what to do about her sudden emotion. He held his arms up and away from Storm, a little uncomfortable with how close they were at the moment. But then, his fatherly instincts took over as he gently wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace. Yuan smiled at the scene in front of him, happy to bring the family back together.

"Where did you go? Why did you run away?" Kratos asked her gently as he grabbed her arms to pull her back to look at him. When he grabbed her injured arm Storm flinched and whimpered a little from the sudden pain. Kratos let go immediately, knowing that he had done something wrong.

"It's her arm, it's broken. We were hoping you could fix it," Yuan explained to him.

Kratos looked back at his daughter, wondering how she had broken her arm. He nodded his head as he led them inside his house. Storm sat down on a sofa and watched as Yuan sat next to her, sitting relatively close to her. Kratos came in after them and saw how close the two were sitting. He smiled softly, hoping that this would be a good sign for his daughter.

"Okay, this will feel a little strange," Kratos warned her.

"Dad, I've been healed with this kind of power before," Storm assured him as Kratos nodded his head at her, a little sad that she had actually had to experience this before. He put his hand over her bad arm and began to use his First Aid.

Storm could feel as her bones began to move back together in her arm and rejoin. She had to admit that it did feel strange as she winced a little at the feeling. Soon, she felt a hand grab onto her other good hand. She looked over and saw Yuan smiling reassuringly at her. The warmth that she could see in his eyes was enough to melt her heart. It had been a long time since she had seen that look in his eyes.

Soon, the discomfort in her arm stopped and she looked to her father before trying to move her arm. She was able to move it all over without any pain at all. She smiled happily and gave both Yuan and her father a hug.

"So, Storm what exactly was going on with you for so long?" her father asked her once she had sat back down.

"Yeah Storm, you didn't really explain completely," Yuan added.

"It was him again...he came when my mind was the weakest...when I was having enough doubts and depression running through my mind..." she said as she looked at the ground, whispering softly, almost as if she was afraid he'd hear her and come back.

"Who?" Yuan asked her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"...It was Mithos..." she said as glared at the ground angrily, upset that she had allowed herself to be overcome and controlled by him once again.

"Why did you leave? Why didn't you tell any of us what was wrong?" Kratos asked her suddenly.

"I couldn't...every time I was around someone I cared about he tried to take over. The only time I couldn't hear him was when I left everyone. So, I ran away and things were quiet until Yuan came back. Then...Mithos wanted me to kill him," she said sadly as she remembered how she almost had killed him. "I'm so sorry," she told him as she turned to look at him.

"It wasn't your fault, besides you were able to fight him off," Yuan told her as he patted her hand.

"How did you break away from him?" Kratos asked her.

"Well, I had to get myself to let go of the sword and had to force him out of my head, sheer will power," Storm explained.

"She started throwing herself against the wall. She threw her arm against it until she broke her arm," Yuan said, hating to think about what he had seen. "I never want to see that again from you," he told her. Storm smirked a little before nodding her head.

"Well, at least he's gone for now, but what about Anna. Now that you're back to yourself, we need to focus on her," Kratos told her.

"Where is she? Does anyone know?" Storm asked her father.

"We have no idea where she is, but I have to wonder if she thinks you're dead. She didn't even come after you. Besides you never went out of your house while you were even in Meltokio," Kratos brought up.

"What if it was because of her that Mithos tried to take you over?" Yuan asked, growing angrier at the girl with each passing second.

"We have to find her...I won't let her get away with this anymore," Storm said, growling a little with the second part of her statement to get her point across.

"I'm going with you," Yuan said as he stood up and offered her his hand. She looked at him before accepting his hand and his help.

"How are you planning on finding her?" Kratos asked the two of them.

"I'm not planning on looking for her, I want to draw her to me. She wants me dead so badly then when she finds out I'm still alive she's bound to show up," Storm said.

"Doesn't that seem a little dangerous?" Yuan asked her. Storm shook her head, it was apparent that she was set on her plan.

"She thinks she's so strong because we've all been holding back on her, but we'll see how much she likes it when the people with more experience begin to fight her at full strength," Storm said confidently.

"Okay, so spread the word that Storm is back and her and I will go around until Anna decides to show up. We'll find her and we'll stop her before she kills more people," Yuan told Kratos as he grabbed Storm's hand and led her out of the house.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Storm asked as Yuan dragged her through Meltokio by her hand.

"We're going back to your house for awhile. We're going to wait at least a day while the word spreads a little," he informed her before they finally reached her house. Storm looked at the large mansion and couldn't help but wish that she was back in her small cottage in Izoold. The town was so peaceful and quiet and she couldn't help but like the small town life.

Storm and Yuan went inside where Storm was greeted by all of her maids. They asked how she was and where she had been. She replied that she was fine and lied saying that she had gone on a vacation suddenly.

Later that night Storm and Yuan were sitting on a couch in front of the fireplace. They watched the flames jumping as they cuddled on the couch, enjoying just being with each other. Storm had been so lonely since Zelos was gone and she needed some sort of company.

"Storm..." Yuan said quietly as he glanced over to her. She had her eyes closed but opened them slowly when she heard her name. She groaned a little to let him know she was listening.

"Storm, I have something very important to ask you," he told her as he moved a little, forcing her to sit up and look at him. She stared at him wondering what he had to tell her.

She cocked her head a little. "What is it Yuan?" she asked innocently.

"Do you love me?" he asked her as he stared into her hazel eyes.

Storm was a little taken aback by his question. She stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. Finally she replied, "Of course I do. I'm sorry if I don't seem like it anymore, it's just hard without Zelos. I don't feel like myself anymore...it's like I don't feel whole anymore. It still hurts," Storm replied.

"I understand...I can't expect you to forget about him and I don't want you to, but I do want you to consider doing something," he told her as he grabbed her hand.

"What's that?" she asked him curiously, wondering where this was going exactly.

"Storm, will you marry me?" he asked her.

Storm's breath hitched and she felt a strange chill run down her spine. She was speechless and didn't know how to answer him. She wanted to say yes, but there were things that prevented her from saying this suddenly.

"What about Martel?" she asked him.

"It's been four thousand years. Martel wouldn't have wanted me to be alone my entire life, for an eternity. I know Zelos wouldn't have wanted you to be alone either. I know this because he told me he didn't want you to stay alone after his death. He knew you would live long past him and he didn't want you to remain alone afterwards. Of course, we didn't expect anything like this..." Yuan told her.

Storm thought for a moment. Zelos had wanted her to remarry? She thought it over for a minute, realizing that Yuan was telling the truth, it was something that Zelos would say. She slowly nodded her head, tears forming in her eyes before she wrapped her arms around Yuan's neck.

After Yuan pried Storm off of his neck he pulled her back to look into her eyes. They were the warm and loving eyes he remembered and had waited for for so long. He smiled softly before the two met in a kiss, sealing their engagement.

* * *

Okay, I know, sucky chapter, but it's just a transition. Sorry, but I think the next one is a transitionish one too. There is a little something more in the next chapter though. Anyway, thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!! 


	12. Chapter 12: New Plans

All right time for the next chapter. I really hope that everyone is enjoying this story. Get ready, cause now we're moving into the next part of it. You know, now Storm and Yuan are together and going after Anna. How's this going to work out? You'll have to see. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12: New Plans

The next day Storm and Yuan went out to see if there was any word out of Storm's return. The happily found that all of the villagers in Meltokio were very excited by the news and word was spreading very quickly. The two knew it was only a matter of time before Anna would show up.

"I really don't like this city anymore," Storm sighed as the two walked together through the streets.

"Why's that? You've been here for so long," Yuan asked her. He looked around, marveling at everything the city had to offer, who wouldn't like the city?

"It's just that it holds too many memories. It hurts to walk around here without Zelos," she said sadly. "Besides, after living in Izoold I really like the small town life, it's much more peaceful," she added as she looked up at him, giving a small smile.

"Well, if you like it so well, when we get married we can live in Izoold," Yuan told her as he reached for her hand.

Storm's eyes lit up at the news. "You mean we don't have to live in Flanior or anything like that?" she asked excitedly. Yuan laughed at her comment and shook his head. "Thank you," she said as she hugged him happily.

"Well, well, isn't that just adorable," laughed a very familiar voice from behind the two. Storm froze before both her and Yuan turned around to face Anna. She was smirking at the couple with her sword in hand. People were looking around and realized that something was going on. The street was beginning to empty very rapidly at the sight of the weapon and Yuan and Storm's reaction.

"Anna..." Storm growled at her daughter before she let Yuan go and grabbed her own sword.

"Wow Mom, you are a tough one," she laughed. "I thought you had surely died when you fell off that cliff, but I guess I should have made sure like I did with Dad," she said with a smirk on her face.

Storm growled under her breath when she heard Anna talk so happily about Zelos' death. "You're not going to get away with this anymore Anna. I'm going to make sure of that, and I'm not going to hold back on you anymore," she announced to her.

Anna looked at her mother before looking at Yuan and shaking her head a little. "Wow Mom, I didn't know I had a new dad. You moved on nicely," she said before she looked back at her enraged mother.

"Anna, just stop it, it's time that I put this all to an end," Storm said as she charged Anna, sword in hand.

Yuan was about to join her, but Storm stopped before she got to Anna and looked at him, signaling him to stay behind, she wanted to deal with this problem on her own. At least she had someone there to back her up if things got bad though.

Anna revealed her wings while Storm revealed her own as Anna flew at her mother. She flew low to the ground before she brought her sword in contact with the ground, releasing a Demon Fang attack across the ground. Storm was barely able to dodge the attack as it flew across the ground.

When Anna realized that her attack did not work she came at her mother again. Storm was ready for her this time and didn't move as she came closer to her. Yuan was getting a little worried as Anna got close to an unmoving Storm. Just as Anna went to swing her sword at her mother, she disappeared in front of her eyes. Anna threw down her sword too empty air and before she could figure out where she went she was hit with Storm's Outburst from behind.

Anna was thrown forwards from the attack as she rolled on the ground a few feet. She groggily got up, she hadn't been hit by an attack that strong for a while. She realized that her mother was definitely serious about this battle. With her mother on the top of her game and Yuan around as well Anna was beginning to get nervous. She wasn't as good a fighter as either of them just yet, she knew they had more experience on them. She wouldn't make a stupid assumption that she was stronger than either of them so she decided to try and escape.

Anna got up off the ground before she began to chant for a spell. Storm flew at her, hoping to get to her before the spell, but was just a little too late when Anna released her Bloody Lance attack on her. Storm yelled out in pain as the attack brought her to the ground. Yuan was about to run after Anna, but she saw him from behind and released her Agarasium attack on him, throwing him into the air. She took off for the skies once the two of them were distracted by the effects of the attacks.

Storm was first to get up and she saw that Anna was gone, no where to be found. She looked over at Yuan who was getting up himself. She got to her feet and walked over to him to help him up as well.

"She got away again," Storm told him as she grabbed his hand to help him to his feet.

"Don't worry, we'll get her eventually," he assured her. "The next thing I'm worried about is telling your father about the engagement," he explained to her.

"He's not going to be that bad, he respects my decisions...most of the time..." she said, a little uncertainty in the last part of her statement.

* * *

"Damn it, they're still too strong for me," Anna said angrily once she got back to where she was hiding.

She was staying in an underground base she had found at Kvar's base, she figured someone must have built there before her. She had a few Desians that were working for her that she managed to find, some that still wanted to create the new Cruxis, even if it meant working for a human. They didn't mind as long as she got rid of their biggest threats like Storm, Yuan, Kratos, Sutra, and the others. They were avoiding her at the moment since she was so angry and they wanted to give her some space to cool off.

"There has to be a way to get rid of them without actually having to do the work myself, but how?" she asked herself, thinking it over a bit in her head. She paced around the room a bit to work up some ideas.

"There has to be a way to get someone else to do it...maybe...maybe someone else who would hate them for the same reasons I do," she thought a little before she smirked when an idea finally came to her. "That's just what I'll do, make everyone realize why they should hate them, why they should kill them..." she laughed as she got up and began giving orders to her soldiers.

* * *

"You're what?" Kratos asked. He was shocked to say the least at the suddenness of their decision.

"Dad, we're engaged," Storm informed him once again as she held onto Yuan's hand for support.

"I understand that," Kratos said with a little sigh, "I just am surprised that you're both actually going to get married after what happened. It's great and I'm happy for you, but it just seems sudden is all," he explained to them.

"Dad, I know Zelos wouldn't have wanted me to be by myself, and to tell the truth, being alone makes the pain that much worse. When I'm with Yuan though, everything feels better, I don't feel as hollow, I don't feel as angry or depressed. He keeps me alive," she told Kratos, before glancing back at Yuan who was shocked by the emotion in her statement.

Kratos looked between the two and sighed. "I am glad to see you happy," he told her before he walked over to Yuan. "And you'd better take good care of her," he warned him as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I can guarantee I will," Yuan assured him, not wanting to let Kratos know that he intimidated him when it came to his daughter.

"Good," Kratos simply stated. "I suppose we should get ready for a wedding then," he said as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. Still kinda short, but more is on the way. This actually was written at three separate times during the day so sorry if I mess something up. Haha! Anyway, glad that you all liked the last chapter, thank you for the reviews. Anyway, please remember to review and I'll see you at the next chapter! 


	13. Chapter 13: Compassion

Okay, well it's time for the next chapter. I really hope that everyone is enjoying this story so far. I would like to let everyone know that I just recently finished another Tales of Symphonia video on If I remember to put the link to it up on the profile you can go right to the new video, it's a video with the Faint Remix. Otherwise, just click on any of my other vids and find the link from there to see my other videos and you should find it. There are also a few that I made recently, I don't know if I put anything down about making them though. There are two versions of an AMV to Chad Kroeger's Hero, and a video to Within Temptation's Stand My Ground. I am pretty proud of those, but I really like this one I just finished. Anyway, hope you like the new chapter and thanks for all the reviews for last time.

* * *

Chapter 13: Compassion

It had been a few months since anyone had seen Anna and everyone was beginning to give up on finding her anymore. Anna was one who would only show up when she thought it was convenient for her. The group would have liked to be one step ahead of her on this, but they really had no leads and they were having enough issues trying to adjust their lives as it was.

Yuan and Storm were recently married. It was a small wedding with just a few of their friends. Everyone from the regeneration journey as well as their children were all that attended. Everyone, especially Lloyd and Kratos, were happy to see Storm moving on. They both hated seeing her depressed, especially Kratos who knew more about her sad past.

Not long after the wedding Yuan and Storm moved into the small town of Izoold, just as Yuan had promised. Storm really enjoyed it there and the two had enough to go around that they didn't really have to work too hard. Storm found that most of the people around there were quite friendly since she actually had the opportunity to make friends without the threat of Mithos taking over always on her mind. She was happy that things were beginning to get somewhat normal for her and she thought that maybe someday she could actually live a normal life.

One day Storm decided she needed to go down to the docks to get some of the fresh fish that had just come in. They needed some food for dinner that night and she decided that this sounded relatively good. Storm wandered into Yuan's office where he was working on some papers for the Renegades. She didn't like to interrupt him when he was busy, but she knew he wouldn't be happy if she just left without telling him. Knowing him, he would just get worried about where she had gone to.

"Yuan..." she called into the office as she peeked around the corner. He was hard at work scribbling on a piece of paper, penning his ideas as they came to mind. He looked up at the sound of her voice.

"What is it?" he asked as he looked at her. He saw that she made no attempt to move closer. "You can come in, how many times do I have to tell you that you're not bothering me when you come in?" he asked her as he waved her in, sighing at the thought of reminding her once again.

"I know, but I don't like making you stop working. You always look so busy," she told him as she took a few steps closer, coming inside the office.

When he saw that she wasn't going to come in all the way he chuckled a little before getting up from his desk and walking over to her.

"I'm sorry, I am bothering you," she told him as she hung her head to the ground.

Yuan hated seeing her always being so submissive to everyone, including himself. He hated what Mithos and Pronyma had instilled into her mind, especially since she didn't realize half the time she was doing it. He took one of her hands in his and took her chin with the other, raising her head to look him in the eyes.

Storm looked him in the eyes and smiled a little. Yuan leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. He loved finally being with her, for her to be his. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked her as he let her go.

"I was going to tell you that I was going to the market to get some fish for dinner," she told him, still overcome by the kiss and the emotions he just gave her.

"That's fine," he told her as he walked back to his desk to let her leave.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," she told him as she left his office and went to the door. She walked out, enjoying the bright summer sun. It was warm, but wasn't too hot because of the breeze the town got from the ocean. She took a deep breath of the salty air as she headed towards the market.

As she was walking along she suddenly heard a lot of noise coming from near the marketplace. There was a lot of commotion and she was interested to see what was causing such a problem in the little town.

"We should teach her for trying to steal the food," someone yelled out in the middle of the crowd that had gathered from the market. Storm tried to figure out what was going on, but she couldn't see over the crowd.

"What's going on?" she asked one woman who was standing at the back of the crowd.

"Some strange little girl came into town and they just caught her trying to steal some bread," she told her. "They figure she has no parents, but they want to teach her not to steal again," she informed her.

"What? So they're going to beat her?" Storm asked, outraged. She had enough of this kind of experience in her life to want to make sure that no one else had to go through something like that, especially if she had no parents. She pushed her way through the crowd until she got to where the little girl was standing, terrified and surrounded by a bunch of angry villagers.

"I say we teach her where her place is," one man said as he lifted his hand to inflict his own punishment on the child.

The girl covered her head in anticipation of the blow, but looked up when it didn't happen. Storm stood over the young girl and hand her hand around the man's wrist, preventing him from hurting her. The man and the rest of the crowd looked about as shocked as the young girl did.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked an older man who came out through the crowd. He stared at Storm who was glaring at the man, daring him to try and hurt the girl again.

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you beat some poor girl," Storm told them. She looked back at the girl who seemed very interested about Storm.

"She stole from me though, and now I can't resell that loaf of bread since she bit into it," the stand owner came out and said.

"Who cares, there are better ways to keep kids from stealing. If she has no family then she is only trying to survive and we can't blame her for that. If it's money that you're concerned about then I'll give you twice that loaf was worth to let that girl go and I promise she won't steal anymore," Storm told the man.

The man looked at Storm then at the girl behind her. "Fine, but if I catch her stealing anywhere again then the punishment goes up...for both of you," he warned her. With this Storm reached into her pocket and pulled out a few coins, way more than the loaf of bread should have been worth. The crowd began to dissipate and soon only Storm and the girl were left.

Storm looked down at the girl. She looked to be only about five or six years old at the most. She had long brown hair that went to about the middle of her back. She was dirty and her clothes were slightly torn. She had no shoes and she had a few cuts a bruises on her arms and legs. She had icy blue eyes and a sweet face to match. Storm bent down and looked the little girl in the eyes with a soft expression.

"So, what's your name?" she asked her kindly.

The little girl stared at her. Storm could tell she had problems trusting people, and after something like that she couldn't really blame her. Her eyes were big as she stared at Storm.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what your name is," Storm assured her.

"Aria..." the little girl said quietly. She wouldn't take her eyes off Storm. They were huge and watched her every movement.

"Aria, huh? Well, that's a pretty name. Where are your parents Aria?" she asked her.

"My mommy was killed by the scary soldiers a while ago and I've never met my daddy," she told her meekly. She sniffled a little at the though. Storm knew that she was talking about the Desian take over and she couldn't help but want to take care of this child.

"Well, why don't you come with me and we'll get you some food and some new clothes, I bet you get cold in those," she told her as she offered her a hand.

Aria looked at Storm's hand that back at Storm before she carefully grabbed on. Storm helped the little girl off the ground. When the girl stood up she came right around to Storm's waist. The girl looked up and placed her hair behind one of her ears since it was getting in her face. This was when Storm noticed something else about her. She had pointed ears.

"You're a half-elf," she said with a small gasp.

" Yeah, but why is that bad? Everyone says that and then they don't like me no more," Aria asked her.

Storm looked at her and smiled. "It's not bad, my husband is a half-elf too. I just thought that you looked like a human is all," Storm said as she gave another grin. "Now, we have to go get food for tonight and get you some new clothes," Storm reminded her as she held out her hand. Aria took hold of Storm's hand as she was led through the streets.

Once they got back to her house Storm went in and showed Aria around. There was a spare room in the house where she took her. She showed her the bed and put her new clothes on it.

"You can stay here and change. I'll let you know when dinner is ready," Storm told her. "We can get you some more clothes later if you want to stay with us that is," Storm told her. She heard a door open, a door that sounded like the office door. "That would be Yuan. I'll go get him and he can meet you too. Wait here for a second," Storm told her. Aria simply nodded her head as Storm left the room.

"Storm, you're back...I didn't hear you come in," Yuan said as she appeared at the kitchen.

"Uh...yeah. Hey, Yuan I have a surprise so don't get too mad, okay?" she told him as she put her hands behind her back and smiled at him.

"What kind of surprise?" Yuan asked her as he raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

"Well, I found a little orphan girl at the market today. They were going to beat her because she stole some bread. So, I paid double for the bread she stole to let her go. She's here right now and I told her she could eat and sleep here for awhile. I got her some new clothes and everything. She's so adorable, you should see her," Storm explained to him. As she kept going, Yuan's eyes grew bigger and bigger.

"You brought a child here?" he asked her. "Why would you do that?" he asked.

"Because they were going to hurt her. I went through enough of that when I was little, I don't want to see that anymore. Besides, you can't expect me to let some poor little girl to go hungry, can you?" she asked him angrily.

Yuan looked down at the ground. Storm had good reasons of her own to bring the little girl here. "Why can't she go to the orphanage in Meltokio or somewhere. I'm thinking with our situation with Anna it's just not safe," Yuan informed her.

"Well, I would, but Meltokio is not very accepting of half-elves even now. She'd never get a home," Storm told him. This is where Yuan stopped and stared more at Storm. Not only was the girl an orphan, but she was also a half-elf. He couldn't say no now.

"Fine, she can stay as long as she wants," Yuan agreed. "Where is she?" he asked her as Storm grabbed his hand excitedly to lead him to the spare bedroom.

Yuan walked in and greeted the young girl as he came over to the bed she was sitting. She looked at him strangely then looked to Storm. Yuan knelt down to come to her eye level as he smiled at her.

"So, what is your name?" he asked her. "My name is Yuan," he told her.

"I'm Aria," she said shyly. Yuan and Storm noticed how she seemed baffled by Yuan as she kept looking from him to Storm.

"What's the matter Aria?" Storm finally asked as the girl looked up at her.

"You guys look so different? Why are you together?" she asked them.

Storm looked sadly at the young girl, knowing that discrimination had even reached her at this young of an age. Storm knew that there were a lot of people in the village who really didn't support her and Yuan's relationship because of their difference in race. She walked up to her and sat on the bed next to her.

"It's true that we are different, but that doesn't matter...even if other people think so," she told the girl. Aria looked at her curiously, but then smiled at her.

"So it doesn't matter that I'm a half-elf then?" she asked her curiously.

"No, in fact, it makes you even more special," Yuan said as he stood up from his spot and smiled softly at her.

She looked at Yuan as a large grin spread across her face. She got up and hugged him, apparently this was something she had really wanted to hear for awhile. Storm looked at Yuan as picked up the happy girl and looked at her. It was obvious to her that he liked Aria and Storm smiled at the thought of having the young girl around.

"So, I'm going to get dinner ready," Storm announced as Aria and Yuan looked at her before smiling at her.

"Can I help?" Aria asked her excitedly.

"Sure you can," Storm replied as Yuan put Aria down as the girl ran after Storm who was making her way out of the room. He watched as she followed Storm and grabbed her hand once she had caught up. He smiled, knowing that this was going to be good, not only for the young girl, but also Storm and himself.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. This is so funny because I wasn't really planning on this, but the idea popped into my head and I had to act on it. Anyway, I really hope everyone liked this. Please review and let me know what you think. Also, don't forget to check out my new video. Thanks!!! 


	14. Chapter 14: Trip to Grandpa's

Hey everyone, I am so sorry for such a late update but I have been very very busy this week. I actually am getting a new room and a new roommate so I've been going through all that, plus I'm not going to be near a computer all weekend since I'm going out of town. Anyway, thank you all for your patience with me. Glad that you liked the last chapter and the happiness just, as you know, don't get too used to it. Haha! Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter once again and I hope you enjoy this one as well.

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Chapter 14: Trip to Grandpa's

It had been about a month since Storm and Yuan let Aria into their home. Both had to admit that she was a sweet little girl and both of them couldn't help but love her. She was beginning to come out of her shell for them and she actually was quite talkative if she wanted to be. Aria really enjoyed going out with Storm when she went into town or into the woods for things. She would also come and see Yuan in his office at night if she couldn't get to sleep. He would have her come in and she would sit on his lap and talk with him as he worked. After awhile of this she would normally fall asleep in his lap and he would take her back to bed. She definitely seemed like she was going to be a regular member of their family, and they could lover like their own child.

"Aria, I'm going to the woods to get some more herbs," Storm called in the house. She soon got a response when she heard the pitter-patter of little feet running through the hall. She soon saw Aria running after her, afraid of being left behind.

"I wanna come too, don't leave me," she whined as she quickly put on her shoes.

"Slow down there, I'm not going anywhere that fast," Storm giggled as she watched the panicked girl struggle to put on her shoes quickly.

After looking at her shoes, making sure that she had them right, Aria looked back up at Storm and nodded her head in approval. "I'm ready now," she announced. Storm laughed at the girl, especially when she flashed a huge grin across her face.

The two walked out of the house and headed towards the woods behind it. It was a peaceful day and the skies were blue and clear. Storm loved calm, sunny days like this and felt at peace. It seemed like her life was finally on the right track. She was living in a quiet town with the man she loved and now she had this adorable girl by her side. Besides this and she hadn't heard anything from or about Anna since their last encounter. She began to wonder if maybe their last encounter had finally scared the girl into behaving. Still, she wondered what had happened to her.

Once they got into the woods Storm and Aria began to look for some of the herbs that they needed. Both becoming very skilled in the art of picking them. Storm was off picking in one area when she heard the sound of footsteps and a low growling noise. It was very faint, but she was able to pick it up with her sensitive hearing. She turned towards the sound which happened to be in the direction that Aria was at. She looked over and saw a wolf stalking the young girl, ready to pounce.

"Aria, get down on the ground," Storm yelled at the young girl as she ran towards her. Aria looked up and saw her running. She didn't even think about what was going on, but immediately ducked to the ground and covered her head with her arms.

Storm pulled out her sword just as the wolf leapt out of its cover towards Aria. She managed to slice into the wolf just before it reached the young girl. The wolf dropped to the ground with a thud, instantly killed by the attack. Storm landed on the other side of Aria and stood up straight.

Aria looked up at Storm and saw the sword in her hand, she had no idea that she was able to fight like that and was impressed with how she had defeated the wolf. She looked in awe at Storm as she placed her sword back in its sheath and walked over to where the wolf was lying.

"Hm...why would a wolf be this close to the town and attacking people on its own? Wolves are normally in packs and usually stay away from humans. There must be a reason," Storm thought out loud as she looked at the wolf.

"That was so cool," Aria said, still amazed with what she had just witnessed.

"Oh, that...something I learned when I was little. My dad taught me how to use a sword. There are some other things that I can do, but I will tell you about that when you get a little older," Storm said when she realized that she and Yuan were keeping things from this little girl like she had Anna.

"Can I see your sword, it looked pretty?" Aria asked as she stared at Storm. Storm nodded her head and pulled her sword out for her to see. She held the blade so it was down and away from Aria, careful not to let the girl hurt herself from it.

Aria came over and looked it over in amazement. "It's so pretty with the sparkly stones and the gold on it," Aria said happily as she ran her hand over the jewels.

"My Dad gave this to me, I really love it," Storm told her.

"I want to meet him," Aria replied. Storm looked at her as she realized that she had never even met her father, and that it had been awhile since she had seen him herself.

"I could take you to meet him sometime soon," Storm told her as she smiled at her.

"Really?! Can I?!" Aria said in excitement. Storm wondered if the girl would be disappointed when she realized her father wasn't as enthusiastic person as she was. All she could do was laugh once again at the young girl's enthusiasm. She almost reminded her of Lloyd in his younger days, except that she never seemed to grow bored of things like her brother had.

With this Storm and Aria walked back to the house to let Yuan know that they wanted to visit Kratos someday soon. Storm walked back to the house as Aria followed closely behind, picking flowers along the way and skipping bedside Storm when she caught up.

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A few days later and the three of them were off once again to the city of Meltokio, ready to visit Kratos. Storm was about as excited about vising as Aria was, and Yuan laughed at the two for their impatience and anxiousness. They first made their trip to the Triet Renegade base before they took a Rheihard the rest of the way. This was a new experience for Aria who clung onto Storm for dear life during the entire ride. She wasn't too sure about the whole ride and was very happy to reach the ground safely in Meltokio.

Aria was a little intimidated by the size of Meltokio and clung tightly to Storm for comfort as they made their way through the streets. The immense masses of people moving through the market reminded the young girl of the crowds of people who threatened to and actually did beat her in the past. She eventually moved between Storm and Yuan as she held onto both their hands for some relief.

"Are we there yet?" she asked timidly as they walked out of the market square.

"We're almost there, don't worry, nothing's going to happen," Storm assured her.

Finally, they reached Storm's father's house as Yuan walked up and knocked on the door to see if he was home. After a few moments he heard someone moving inside as he stepped back a couple of feet. Soon, the door opened to reveal a very surprised Kratos.

"Dad! How are you?" Storm asked as she went to hug him. Kratos was never very good with hugs and it always took him a second to adjust before he wrapped his arms around her to return the embrace. Kratos looked to Yuan and have him a friendly nod before Storm finally let him go.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked the couple, still not noticing that there was a third member to their party.

"Before we do Dad, I have to introduce you to someone who's been looking forward to meeting you," Storm told him.

"There's someone else here?" Kratos said as he looked around, what he didn't see was the small young girl hiding behind Storm's legs. She peeked her head out and looked at him, too shy to introduce herself.

"Dad, this is Aria," Storm announced as she moved away a little to reveal the young girl who stood meekly in the doorway. Kratos looked down and looked at the young girl. He had to admit that she was very cute, but he was definitely confused as to where she had come from all of a sudden. He saw that she was nervous, and figured it was from him so he bent down to get to the girl's level before introducing himself.

"I'm Kratos, Storm's father. It's very nice to meet you Aria," he said as he nervously stuck his hand out for a handshake. He was not very good at interacting with children and he wasn't sure how to greet them.

Aria looked at him for a few seconds before she smiled once again before grabbing his hand and shaking it excessively and exaggeratedly. Kratos couldn't help but chuckle at the girl and realized that she reminded him of a younger Storm, before her training had begun.

"You gave Storm the pretty sword?" she asked him curiously as she pointed at him.

Kratos looked a little confused at first and looked to Storm. Storm patted the sword at her side before Kratos figured out what the girl was talking about. He simply nodded in reply.

"It's so cool!!!" she said happily. She stopped and looked at Kratos for a few more seconds. She seemed like she was lost in thought before she finally came back, ready to speak about what was on her mind.

"You don't look old like my grandpa was. Are you really her daddy?" Aria asked. Storm and Yuan laughed at this question as Kratos rolled his eyes. She definitely wasn't unobservant or unintelligent in the least.

"Yes, I'm her father, but I'm sure Storm and Yuan will explain to you someday exactly why I am so young looking for my age," Kratos said. "Now, why don't you all come in and you can tell me about how you met your third member and we can catch up," Kratos told them as he gestured for them to go inside. Storm and Yuan went first and Aria stayed outside and looked once more at Kratos. She held out her hand which he took in his to lead the young girl inside.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. You'll understand why Kratos and the sword are important, but that probably won't be until another story, but keep it in the back of your mind, okay? Like I said this was important, but not till later so sorry if it was short, boring, too transitional, etc. Anyway, next one gets into more action again and maybe out of the happy. Prepare yourself. Anyway, thanks and please remember to review!! 


	15. Chapter 15: Escape

Hey everyone, I decided that I had enough time to actually update this. I wasn't even around a computer this weekend. I was on a crazy and fun fall retreat with one of my college clubs. It was fun, but I got a nasty cold. Oh well... Anyway, here's the next chapter for you all. I hope you like it. Oh, and thanks for all the reviews last chapter.

Chapter 15: Escape

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Aria was playing inside with a doll that Yuan had gotten her. She was pretending to play house with it as Yuan sat at his desk and wrote on some papers. She loved to sit in his office and just watch him working, she was intrigued by him. He let her stay in his office as he worked because she was very well behaved and didn't bother him too much. He had to admit that he really had learned to love the girl in the few months that they'd had her.

Storm was in the kitchen getting things ready for dinner that night. She had to admit that she was more content than she had ever been. Things were so peaceful and she didn't want anything to change. She was very happy with Yuan and Aria, but she couldn't help but still hurt from the loss of Zelos. She missed him so much and the fact that she might have been able to prevent his death somehow always dug at her. Thankfully, she had Aria and Yuan to keep her from becoming too depressed. Aria could always put a smile on her face and she couldn't wait to watch her grow, knowing that she was most likely going to stay with them.

Things were quiet in the house until Yuan heard someone knocking at the door. Storm heard it as well from the kitchen, but seeing as how she was cooking and didn't want to leave things unattended she waited for Yuan to get it. She was also in the back of the house and was farthest away from the door anyhow.

Yuan got up and walked out of the office, past Aria who got up and followed him. He got to the door where Aria hid behind him, only her head peeking out from behind his legs as she looked to see who was there. Yuan opened the door and saw a woman, flushed and out of breath panting in the doorway. She pushed her way in past Yuan and closed the door behind her as she attempted to catch her breath. Yuan looked at her oddly, wondering who she was and why she had just barged into their house.

"Can I help you?" he asked her, wanting some sort of an explanation for her actions.

"You all...you have to get out of here...quickly...they're coming..." the woman said as she stared at Yuan with huge eyes. Aria poked out a little more from behind Yuan as she tried to get a better look at the woman.

"What are talking about?" Yuan asked her as he looked at her, hoping to get something more than that.

"There are groups of people...all over...they're out to kill everyone from the Regeneration Journey..." she explained.

"Why? Why would they try to kill the people who saved them from everything they suffered from before?" Yuan asked her.

"Because there is word that you all have worked for an organization named Cruxis. Someone has told that this group was the whole reason we suffered in the first place and that you all are a part of this," she told him, finally able to speak easily, but she was still rushing through her explanation nervously.

"What? If that's true then why are you warning us to run? Wouldn't you be after us as well?" he asked.

"I know that you are good people and that you would not try to hurt the people of this world, I have seen you with that girl," she said as she pointed to Aria who hid behind Yuan once again. "They all really want you two anyway, more than some of the others of your group," she explained.

"Why's that?" Yuan asked curiously. He wondered why everyone would want to kill him and Storm unless they knew that they actually had worked for Cruxis before.

"It's because you are one of the first human and half elf couples and it scares everyone and makes them angry. You need to get out of here as quickly as possible. There is a large group that has gathered from different places and they're almost here," she said, her voice becoming more and more urgent as she continued.

"Thank you, we will," Yuan said as the woman opened the door again.

"Good luck," she said as she exited their house, closing the door slowly behind her.

Yuan scooped up Aria and quickly made his way to the kitchen where Storm was. He handed Aria to her as he began to pack some food in the kitchen as he grabbed a bag hanging with some of their coats. Storm looked at him strangely as he threw some food into the bags.

"What is going on?" she asked him as she set Aria down gently.

"We have to get out of here, there are people who want to kill us coming," he told her as he ran into another room to grab some more things out of their bedroom.

"What?" she asked as she ran after him to see what was going on. Aria tagged along behind her, still confused about the whole situation.

"Grab some things Storm because we need to go now! They want to kill us because they think we're still a part of Cruxis. We have to get out of here. Get some of Aria's things together," he told her as she ran into Aria's room.

Storm grabbed a small knapsack and threw in Aria's clothes and an extra pair of shoes for her. She was about to get ready to leave when she was going by Yuan's office. She saw Aria's doll on the floor and picked it up, knowing that it was the girl's favorite.

"Are you ready?" Yuan asked her as Storm entered the kitchen where the back door was. Storm nodded at him as she picked up Aria and handed her the doll she had grabbed. Aria squeezed it tightly, afraid that she had almost lost it. With that, they went out the back door and ran into the woods behind their home.

Not too long after they had left a large group of people from different towns arrived at their home. They didn't even knock on the door, but rather knocked it down as they went inside. They searched high and low in the house as they knocked over furniture and broke a lot of the articles inside while searching for them. After they realized there was no one inside and that they had missed them they angrily set the home on fire, to make sure that they wouldn't have a home to go back to.

The woman who had helped the family watched as the house slowly burnt to the ground, satisfied that they were unable to find the family, that they had gotten away. She sighed and went back to her own home, praying that Yuan, Storm, and little Aria would make it through this whole thing unharmed.

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I know probably one of the shortest chapters in a long time, but I'm sorry and this is where I wanted to end it. It just feels like a right spot. This is a pseudo transition chapter anyway. Okay, so let me know what you think and we'll get back to the good parts of the story in the next chapter so bear with this chapter, okay? Anyway, thanks for the reviews last chapter so don't forget ro review this chapter as well. Thanks for reading!!! 


	16. Chapter 16: Angel Wings

Hey everyone, sorry that I haven't updated in awhile once again. All the professors are pushing for papers before we get out for Thanksgiving break which I'm really looking forward to, and going to be so busy during. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I know that there are still some questions out there but don't worry hopefully things will clear up by the end of the story. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 16: Angel Wings

"I'm tired," Aria cried out as Storm stopped walking and went over to the young five year old. She bent over and wiped the tears from the small girl. She knew that they had been moving for a long time without any break and Aria had to be getting tired. She was about to pick her up to carry her when Yuan came over.

"I'll carry her," he said as he bent over to pick up the sobbing girl. Aria stopped crying soon after and before long she was fast asleep in Yuan's embrace.

Storm walked over to Yuan and looked at Aria in his arms. She stroked her hair as she smiled down at the girl. She then looked to Yuan with a more saddened expression.

"If only she didn't have to get involved in all this, but now she has no where to go," she told him.

"I know..." Yuan sighed. "She didn't have anywhere to go before though either," he answered.

"I really hope that everyone else is okay...you said that they were after all of us," Storm pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that they are. They're all pretty capable of taking care of themselves," Yuan assured her.

"I hope you're right..." she sighed as she looked up at the top of the forest, trying to find the stars in between the leaves in the trees. The stars that gave her the hope that her family was okay, they were no longer there. She didn't feel too comforted without them to look at.

Finally, they came across a small spot that looked like a good place to rest for the night. Yuan gently laid Aria down on a soft patch of grass as he pulled out the blanket he had brought with them and draped it over her small form. Storm pulled out her doll and placed it next to her as well. Yuan then laid down next to a tree nearby and motioned for Storm to come over to him. Storm walked over and laid down beside him.

"I didn't bring enough blankets for everyone," Yuan told her.

"It's okay, we have each other. Let Aria have the blanket, she needs it more," Storm told him as she wrapped her arms around him. She buried her head in his chest as his arms wrapped around her protectively.

"We're going to make it through all of this...together," he told her.

Storm was silent for a moment. Yuan began to grow nervous at her silence, but soon she spoke very softly. "Of course we will."

Yuan couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with her uncertainty. Suddenly Storm spoke up once more. "I won't let anything happen to Aria," she told him before she snuggled closer as a cold wind swept over them.

"I know...I won't let anything happen to either of you," he told her as he kissed the top of her head and settled himself better before closing his eyes.

The next day their small group began to travel once again, trying desperately to find some safe place they could stay for an extended period of time. They were afraid if they settled down just anywhere they would be caught. They had been having good luck in the last few days with not being followed too closely, but they never knew when their luck might run out.

Storm was walking along, Yuan and Aria ahead of her talking about some random subject, when she heard the sound of footsteps. From what she could tell there were a lot of them. She stopped walking at the footsteps soon stopped as well. Yuan and Aria soon stopped as well and looked back at her. Aria looked a bit confused, but Yuan seemed to realize that Storm was listening for something, but what he couldn't tell. He had been too occupied with Aria.

Suddenly, the sound of arrows slowly being pulled back in bows reached her ears as Storm's eyes grew wide. She ran at Yuan and Aria and let out her Guardian technique as the arrows flew towards the group. Storm was able to repel the arrows, but soon there was the sound of swords leaving their sheaths and people charging towards them. Storm pulled out her own as Yuan had Aria run into the brush. Aria did as she was told as both Yuan and Storm prepared for battle, bringing their wings out as well. They would not let anything happen to Aria or to each other.

The group of men soon emerged out of the nearby cover and ran towards the two, weapons in hand. Storm got herself ready as she brought her sword over her shoulder before bringing it down to the ground quickly.

"Double Demon Fang," she yelled as the blue surge of mana raced across the ground hitting a few of the soldiers in its path. The ones that weren't affected came towards her to defend their comrades.

"Thunder Blade!" Yuan cried as he came at the soldiers going towards Storm, slamming them backwards with the force of his attack.

Storm saw a few of the ones she'd hit earlier up and ready for more. She ran towards them, but suddenly disappeared behind them before attacking them with her Death Eater attack, knocking at least one of them to the ground again. Once she'd finished the attack she noticed one soldier making his way close to where Aria was hiding. Storm flew over to where he was, tackling him when she reached him. This caused her and the soldier to hit the ground and roll for a bit. Aria watched, her eyes wide, not only at the danger involved in the battle, but the fact that Storm and Yuan both had wings.

The soldier came at Storm who was still on the ground as he lifted his sword to slice into her. Storm though saw him come and let out an Outburst attack to knock him backwards and away from her. She then got to her feet and returned to where Yuan was trying to hold off more soldiers.

"Beast!" Storm yelled as she threw herself into a group of soldiers, knocking them all back before Yuan came at them again with his own weapon drawn and ready to attack. The soldiers realized they would need more help and ran off to keep from getting killed.

Storm ran over to Aria who was still a bit freaked out by the whole experience. Storm ran over and wrapped her arms around and pulled her close, so afraid that she could have lost her. Yuan also knelt down to where the two where and stroked Aria on the head.

Suddenly, Aria decided to ask a few questions that were on her mind as Storm picked her up so they could get moving away from the area.

"Why are they trying to hurt us? Why are they trying to hurt you like they did my mommy?" she asked.

"We don't really know why, but we have to stay away from them," Storm told her.

"Why do you both have sparkly wings?" she asked innocently.

"It's really hard to explain right now, but I promise you when you get a little older I will explain everything to you, okay?" Storm asked her.

"Okay..." she said as a smile spread on her face.

"That's my girl," Storm said as they started walking again. Suddenly, there was another rustling in the bushes. Storm stopped and her and Yuan both pulled their weapons out, ready for another fight. After hearing nothing Storm dropped Aria and moved closer to the bushes. Storm was just about ready to attack when suddenly there was a bark followed by a whine. Storm cocked her head at the sound, but was soon surprised to see a familiar green dog creature jump out at her, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Noishe?" she asked as the creature wagged its tail as an answer.

"What's a Noishe?" Aria asked.

"That is Noishe, not a Noishe," Yuan told her as she pointed to him. Noishe saw the little girl and pranced over to her before he began to sniff her intensely. Aria giggled as Noishe's cold nose tickled her. Noishe announced his approval of the young girl as he licked her face causing her to really laugh in excitement. Noishe bent down on the ground to signal that Aria could ride on him. Aria went onto his back as he nudged her up with his nose.

Storm walked over to him and patted him on his head. "I guess that solves the traveling problem for Aria. Thank boy," she said as she scratched him behind the ears. He licked her face to show to let her know it was no problem for him.

That night they all camped out in another seemingly safe spot. Noishe curled himself around Aria, providing her even more warmth. She snuggled up next to him, using him as a pillow and adding his tail as yet another blanket. He nuzzled his head against her body, almost keeping her out of sight from anyone passing through.

Storm looked at the two resting before she began to head towards the stream. Yuan saw her leaving and got up as well.

"Where are going off to?" he asked her.

"I was going to go and rinse off a little, I feel kinda dirty after being rolled in the dirt, and sleeping in it as well," she informed him.

"I'm going with you," he told her.

"I think I can do this myself," she told him. "Besides, you need to watch over Aria," she added.

"Noishe can handle that, besides I don't want you out there alone with those people wandering around. Noishe has her hidden, no one would see her anyway. Besides, I know he'd protect her. If there's a monster he'll just grab her and run," he said with a little chuckle at the end.

"Fine...you can come," she finally gave in as she and Yuan headed towards the stream.

Once they got there Storm was about ready to take her clothes off to bathe when Yuan came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. He began to place light kisses on her neck. Storm giggled a little.

"So that's why you wanted to follow me out here," she joked as he continued to kiss at her neck.

"That might be part of the reason," Yuan said in between his kissed. Soon, his hands trailed to where he pulled at her shirt. She let him lift it off as he turned her towards him and kiss her fully on the lips.

"At this rate, I don't think I'm going to be any cleaner by morning," she told him when they stopped kissing and rested foreheads for a breath. Yuan smirked a little before their lips met once again.

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Well, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you liked it, more on the way if I get to finish these amazing papers, and if I'm not too deadly busy for Thanksgiving week!! Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!! 


	17. Chapter 17: Illness

Hey everyone, time to update again. Sorry if I have any issues updating in the future because I am so busy. I mean papers, exams (finals coming soon), club meetings, and a social life keep me bogged down sometimes. Anyway, thanks to those of you who put up with my busy life and wait for these updates patiently. Anywho, thanks for the reviews for last chapter and I hope you like this one as well. Thanks!

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Chapter 17: Illness

About a month since Noishe joined their group everyone was still trying to avoid the danger that seemed to keep following them. No matter how far they traveled they seemed to always run into more people trying to hurt them. They really didn't think things were going to last this long, but they hoped it would end soon. The one thing on their minds was how these rumors had been started in the first place and why they had been.

Yuan was walking behind Noishe who had Aria on his back while Storm tagged along behind them all. Yuan looked back to check on Storm and realized she had fallen very far behind and was desperately trying to keep up the pace. He patted Noishe on the back to signal him to stop as he went back to check on her.

"What's wrong Storm?" he asked as he placed a hand on her back.

"I'm fine...I'm sorry," she said as she gave him a fake smile. Yuan was able to see right threw her and raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

"Really? What's wrong Storm?" he asked her once again, willing to keep it up until he got the truth from her.

Storm sighed in defeat. "I feel sick and tired," she told him. "It's my stomach I think. I must've eaten something bad last night,"she told him.

"Why don't you ride on Noishe for awhile?" he offered her.

"No, Aria needs him, she can't walk this far," she told him.

"And neither can you. Besides, I can carry Aria without any problem," Yuan said. He turned around to Noishe and Aria who were looking at the two. "Aria you're going to walk with me for awhile while Storm rides Noishe, okay?" he asked her.

Aria looked at them before nodding her head. "Okay!" she said as she hopped off Noishe and ran over to Yuan. She looked at Storm with big, worried eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked her worriedly.

"I'm fine, I just don't feel well," Storm told her.

"You'll feel better real quick cause Noishe is really soft and comfy," Aria assured her happily.

"Thanks," Storm said as she patted her head and walked over to Noishe who laid down to let her get on his back.

Not too long after they began walking again Storm suddenly stopped Noishe as she jumped off of him and ran into the woods. Yuan ran after her to see what was going on. When he got there he realized that she really was sick. This worried him a lot. They were out in the forest without a doctor of any sort, sleeping on the cold ground every night, and eating any kind of food that looked halfway decent. If she was really sick, she could die out in the woods and the most he could do was stand and watch her.

"Storm, you're going to a doctor," he announced to her.

"We can't do that, someone will find us for sure," Storm told him.

"I'll fight off anyone who comes, but it's not going to do you any good to be sick all of the time either," he explained to her.

"But..." Storm began before being cut off once again.

"You may as well stop protesting because I'm taking you there whether you like it or not," Yuan told her before Storm sighed. She got up, rather shakily, before Yuan grabbed her arm to help her the rest of the way.

What they didn't know was that there was someone watching them in the distance, listening in on their conversation. Before they got back to Noishe the person ran back towards a small village.

Storm was about to get back on Noishe, but stopped and ran back behind the trees once again, getting sick all over again. Yuan was really getting worried about her condition. He knew he had to find help somewhere, but he didn't know where to go or how to get there. He went over to stay with Storm until she felt well enough to move again.

Not long after, Storm was finally feeling at least a little better and was ready to travel once again. They walked along for a little while when they heard someone in the woods. Yuan grabbed for his weapon, ready to attack whatever was threatening them.

"Please don't attack, I'm here to help," someone said as they came out. It was a common villager, but Yuan wasn't ready to let his guard down just yet. This man could be some sort of distraction from something else that could be out there waiting for them.

"What do you want from us?" Yuan asked him not taking his hand off his weapon for a second.

"I heard that your wife was sick. I want to help. There is a doctor in our town who is willing to help her," he offered. Yuan looked at him, he could tell that he was telling the truth and that he really did want to help.

"Okay...but don't you know who we are?" he asked the man.

"Yes, we do, but we don't think that you're all that bad. You did save us after all," he told them.

"Thank you," Yuan said as he went over to Noishe who began to walk in the direction the man was showing them.

Once they got out of the woods they noticed they were in a very small village, one that they hadn't been to before. They looked around, trying to figure out where they had ended up at, but they couldn't tell.

"You can come in here," the man told the two as they showed him the house where this doctor lived. "She'll probably stay the night, but you two can stay with my family," he informed them.

"All right," Yuan said nervously, not sure if he wanted to leave Storm all alone for the night.

"It's fine," Storm assured him as she got off Noishe to go inside the house. She went to the door where she was greeted by another man. He looked her over a little bit before he began to speak.

"It is a good thing that you came here, you don't look too well," he said as he helped Storm into the house. Yuan went to follow her, but a woman came to the door instead, blocking his path inside.

"She'll be fine, now you and your daughter go along and get something to eat," she told him as she pointed to Aria.

When Yuan got the house he sat down for the dinner prepared for them all. He looked at the man who had found them in the woods and then to his wife. There was something that he wanted to know and he wanted to see if these people could help him.

"There is something that's been bothering me," he began. The two looked at him strangely, wondering what he was talking about. "Why exactly have people begun coming after us? Why do they think that we're a part of Cruxis out to ruin their lives?" he asked.

"There's some girl, she said she'd found the truth on how some of you got wings and how the whole group was so powerful. She said it was because of your powers from Cruxis," he informed him.

"A girl? What was her name, do you remember?" Yuan asked the man.

"I think it was Anna...she didn't say her full name though," the woman answered in his place.

"So, she's back again..." Yuan mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" the man asked him. Yuan snapped out if his thoughts and looked towards the couple.

"It's nothing..." Yuan said sadly as he looked at them, then towards Aria.

The next morning, Yuan was getting ready to visit Storm at the doctor's house. He was packing up some of their things, getting ready for their journey. Suddenly, the woman in the house came up to him and handed him a large pack of food for the trip.

"You'll be needing this...try and stay safe," she told him. Yuan looked at her before gently taking the package.

"Thank you..." he told her as he placed it in his bag. He headed outside with that and headed towards the doctor's to find out Storm's diagnosis. He came up to the door and knocked loudly so that they might hear him. Not long after the woman from before opened the door and let him in.

"So, what's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?" he asked anxiously as they walked to the room Storm was staying in.

"She's going to be just fine, she'll explain more when you get there," the woman told him.

When he walked into the room, the woman left him to talk with Storm. This whole situation was really beginning to make him nervous. Storm was lying the bed as he walked in, she stared at him all the way until he sat down on the bed. She looked a little more depressed than he had left her and he wondered what had happened since he left her.

"So, what did they tell you?" he asked her. He looked at her as she stared at him in silence for a moment before she moved her gaze away from him sadly. She wouldn't look him in the eyes or even speak with him. This is what worried him the most, she was afraid to tell him something.

"Storm...please say something," he pleaded with her as he touched her hand. She flinched a little from the touch, she looked like she was trying to hold something back, something was definitely bothering her.

"Yuan..." she said softly, her voice cracking a little. She turned to look at him. That's when he saw that her eyes were welling up with tears.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"Yuan, I'm pregnant," she told him sadly.

Yuan stared at her in disbelief for a moment. He thought over what she had just said. This meant that he was going to be a father, they would have a family with their own children. It would be like another Aria, except that it would be his own flesh and blood. He then began to wonder why she was crying.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked her after he recovered himself a little. She stopped to look at him, before she really began crying.

"I can't do it...I can't be a mother again. I'm afraid...that they'll end up like Anna. I don't deserve this, I'm not good enough," she told him.

When he heard this he thought to what the man and the woman told him the night before. There was no way that he could tell her about Anna. It would just upset her more and make her worry more.

"Don't talk like that. Anna was not your fault. You're a great mother, you've proven that with Aria," Yuan told her. "And you'll do a wonderful job with our child," he added at the end.

Storm looked at him before smiling softly at him, sniffling a little as her tears began to stop. She sat up and hugged him as he returned the embrace.

He went out not too long afterwards to talk to the doctor as his wife got Storm ready to leave. He needed to find out how to best take care of her while she was pregnant.

"She's going to be more tired, something that might be hard on her with the traveling. She will have the morning sickness for awhile yet so take it easy in the morning. I wouldn't advise her fighting obviously, especially if it can be helped. I realize that she is stubborn...believe me I figured that out really quickly," he said. Yuan couldn't help but laugh at the last comment.

Then he began to think about what he said. Storm was definitely at a disadvantage being pregnant, she was in danger. He also knew that she was unable to use any of her angelic powers to defend herself while she was pregnant or else the baby would be killed. He had put her in danger by getting her pregnant and now something could happen to her. He wouldn't forgive himself if he let something happen to her while she was pregnant. Now it was his job to defend them all. He just hoped he was able to do that.

"Are you ready to go?" Yuan turned around and saw Storm standing not too far behind him, ready to leave. She looked a lot better than the day before, but he could tell that she still wasn't back to her normal self.

"Yeah, let's go. Aria is outside with Noishe," he told her as he took her hand and led her outside so they could leave to continue looking for a completely safe place to stay.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it. We're getting kinda close to the end of this chapter. I will tell you I am planning on another story after this, but only if I get enough people to want it. So, at the end I need lots of reviews with opinions, even if you've never reviewed, I take anonymous ones as well so you don't actually need an account. Also, I need to know if you want me to go into detail on the pregnancy part of this story, cause at this point I am thinking about moving pretty quickly through it. Maybe like the next chapter and then moving through it after that. I don't know. Anyway, tell me what you think. Review and thanks for reading. 


	18. Chapter 18: New Plan

Wow, I warned you all I'd be slow on updating, and guess what, I was write with that guess. Sorry once again, but I am slow at this sometimes when life gets hectic. Sorry. Anyway, I know some of you will be upset with me even if I apologize so...all I can say is that I tried. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I really hope you like the next chapter. We're getting closer to the end of this story. So, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 18: New Plan

It had been quite a long time since Yuan and Storm discovered that they were going to be parents. Storm was very far along in her pregnancy, and was expected to be due any day. Luckily, the group was able to find another friendly villager in their travels who was kind enough to let them stay in his old and unused cabin. He said that he had used it for vacationing, but that he had given up on it lately because of how busy he had become with his business. After that, Storm had been able to relax comfortably in the house in the middle of the woods.

The person whose cabin they were staying in didn't even live close by where his home was. This was unfortunate for Storm and Yuan since they couldn't go to anyone to buy some food for them in the village nearby. Yuan had to go out and find food for the group since they were too afraid of being captured in the next village. They managed to survive, and they hoped that they would be able to ride out this terrible hunt.

One night everyone was gathered in the front room curled up by the fireplace before they were about to head to bed. Storm was watching the fire when suddenly Aria, now six years old, came up and sat down next to her. Storm looked over and saw the young girl staring at her in wonder.

"What's the matter Aria?" she asked her.

"You said that I would have a new brother or sister, right?" Aria asked her.

"That's right, very soon too," she replied.

"So, how could that baby fit inside you, I don't understand," she admitted as she stared at her, waiting for some sort of explanation to clear her confusion.

Yuan chuckled in the corner and waited for Storm's answer to the question as well.

Storm took Aria's hand and placed it on her stomach, sort of feeling around for a certain spot. Suddenly she stopped and pressed Aria's hand on her stomach before looking back at the girl.

"Do you feel that?" she asked before waiting again for what she wanted the girl to feel.

Aria seemed to be concentrating very hard on finding what Storm wanted her to feel. Suddenly, she jumped a little before she looked up at Storm and smiled.

"I felt it!" she said excitedly.

"That's the baby, it just kicked a little," Storm explained to her.

"Wow, it sure is strong," she said as she stared back at Storm's very pregnant tummy. Storm giggled a little at the girl's comment and then sighed as she stretched out some more on the floor to get more comfortable.

Not too long after that and Aria was beginning to yawn an awful lot. Yuan walked over to the young girl and picked her up to take her to bed. Storm got up as well and followed them to the bedroom. When they got in Yuan placed Aria in bed and covered her up and handed her her favorite doll. Aria grasped it tightly and snuggled a little farther under the covers.

"Good night Aria," Storm said as she smiled at the young girl.

"Goodnight Mommy, goodnight Daddy," Aria said sweetly. Storm still winced a little at the name. She wasn't Aria's real mother, but Aria had begun to call her and Yuan these names not too long ago. Storm wasn't sure if it felt right, but if it made Aria happy then she could be all right with it.

With all this said and done Storm and Yuan walked out of the room and turned out the lights. Storm walked out and started making her way towards the other bedroom so she could sleep for the night. She saw Yuan heading towards the door and decided to tell him good night as well.

"You're going out then to get some food?" she asked him as he got some of his things before actually making it to the door. He turned around to answer her.

"Yeah, you know there are less people wandering the woods at night. It's the best time to go and get the food without having to worry about getting caught.

"Yeah, I know, but please try to be careful, it may not be as safe as you think it is," she warned him.

"I know, I will," he said in a voice that made Storm think he was trying to tell her she was nagging. She scowled a little at him, which he happily returned with a smile and a kiss.

"Good night, I'll be in later tonight," Yuan called to her as he walked out the door.

"Good night..." Storm barely got out as he closed the door behind him, she wasn't even sure if he heard her, but he was in a rush to get back.

As Yuan was out in the woods, he noticed a small group of villagers making their way through. He wondered what they were doing out, and he hid to see if he could hear in on their conversation.

"I can't believe one of those Cruxis members is in the next town over. Maybe we'll finally get to kill one of them. I heard that he's all alone there too," one of the men said.

"Yeah, what a dumb idea. What's his name again?" the other added.

"I think they said it was Kratos. I'm not really sure if that's right, but it sounds about right. What does it matter anyway?" he asked before he and the others began to laugh.

Yuan couldn't believe it. Kratos was close by and he was going to be captured and killed soon if he didn't find him. He ran back to the cabin to tell Storm so he could head towards the village and rescue his friend.

* * *

Not too long after Yuan left another voice entered the forest.

"Hmm...this is very interesting. I can't believe after all this time we're about to kill only one of that pathetic group," Anna's voice rang through the forest as she spoke with a Desian soldier. "By now we should have gotten them all. Why can't I find them?" she asked loudly, much more irritated this time.

As she walked along she kept grumbling to her soldier about not being able to find and kill everyone, and the fact that the only one she had found was now her grandfather. Suddenly, Anna stopped when she saw and heard something up ahead. She snuck along before finally getting closer to really be able to tell what she was seeing.

Anna couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her was a small cabin and her mother and Yuan were out front and they were talking about Kratos. This is what Anna had hoped for, to be able to find where the two were hiding. A closer look at the couple revealed to Anna that her mother was very, very pregnant. Anna smirked at this and began to concoct a new plan in her head. She listened in more carefully in the conversation as she did this.

"You said that they're after Dad?" Storm asked Yuan in a panic.

"Yes, they're after him now. That's why I'm going after him. I can't let something like that happen to Kratos, I've known him too long to let him be killed when I have the chance to stop it," Yuan told her.

"Does that mean you're going to find him?" she asked him.

"Yeah...you'll be okay here, won't you?" he asked her.

"Of course I'll be fine, I want you to find Dad and bring him back here. I don't know what I'd do if they killed him," she said, almost on the verge of tears at the thought.

"Don't worry, he'll come back with me," Yuan assured her.

Yuan grabbed Storm and pulled her into a hug before he kissed her and took off. Storm watched him leave until he disappeared from her sight. With that, she left to go back inside the house for the night.

Anna could barely contain her joy and what she had just found. She had finally found someone she had been looking for for so long. She began working out her plan as she got up from her hiding spot and headed back towards the village she had come from. The soldier she was with looked at her strangely as he watched her walk back.

"Where are you going? Didn't you want to get there to make sure they killed off Kratos?" he asked her.

"I don't need to worry about those things anymore. I have more important things to do now and not much time to do it in," Anna explained to him. Anna continued to walk on and chuckled under her breath as her plan unfolded in her mind. "I've got you now Mother..." she mumbled under breath.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I really really hope I don't get any hate mail since it took me so long to update. I really am sorry, really!! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and be prepared for the next one...whenever it comes along I guess. Anyway, thanks for reading and please remember to review!! Thanks! 


	19. Chapter 19: Dire Situation

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it. I don't know who all that includes, but man I feel like a pig from eating so much good food. That's a good thing when all you've had for the last 3-4 months has been dorm food. Feels good to have some comfort food. Well, thanks for the reviews last chapter and I hope you like this chapter too! Thanks and enjoy!

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Chapter 19: Dire Situation

Yuan wasn't sure if he would make it on time to save Kratos, he hoped that he would be able to hang on a little longer, just until he got there. He couldn't live with the guilt of letting Kratos die when he could have saved him, and he couldn't live with the pain that Storm would experience because of it. He picked up his pace with that thought, not too far from the village that he was supposedly at.

When he got into the open, inside the village he noticed the large crowd of people near one of the buildings. He tried to look through the group, when he did he saw that they had Kratos cornered. He looked ready to defend himself, but he was going to have a rough time with all the people who had shown up, some of the people being trained soldiers.

"All right, now we have you. You can't cause us anymore trouble you member of Cruxis," someone shouted near the front. Everyone in the crowd began to taunt and throw out some remarks as they prepared to attack.

"If you're after him, then you want me too," Yuan shouted into the crowd as he revealed his wings and flew over to Kratos. He was able to keep from being shot at by the archers mainly because they were shocked at his entrance all together. He flew next to a very surprised Kratos.

"What are you doing here?" Kratos asked him. "Where's Storm?" he added in a more worried tone. He worried that since she wasn't with Yuan that something had happened to her.

"She's in hiding and is safe. She wanted me to come here and bring you back alive, and besides I came to help you myself. There's no way I'm going to let you handle this yourself," Yuan told him as he pulled out his own weapon, ready for the oncoming attack.

"I hope you know what you got yourself into," Kratos warned him as the crowd began to charge them.

* * *

"I finally found someone that you're looking for," Anna announced into the crowd. They all listened intently, especially the soldiers who were left behind as some of the others went to dispose of Kratos.

"What are you talking about?" someone finally asked as Anna smiled at the question, ready to explain.

"There has been a member of Cruxis hiding not too far from your village for awhile now. Her husband has gone out to defend the other one and she is all alone. Oh, and she's pregnant," Anna explained.

"I don't know if we could kill her if she's pregnant," someone spoke up, not wanting to kill of an innocent child even if they hated the mother.

"What if I told you that this child would most likely grow into a member of Cruxis themself?" Anna tried.

"I think that we would be able to raise it as one of us and it would never know," they told her, letting her know they disagreed with killing an unborn child.

Anna was getting upset that she wasn't getting the reaction she was looking for from the villagers. She stopped and thought a moment for anything that might change their mind. Suddenly, something sparked an idea and she glanced back at the crowd with a smirk on her face.

"What if I told you that the mother was human and the father was a half-elf?" she suggested and awaited the answer she was looking for.

* * *

"Grave!" Kratos shouted as he launched his attack at the oncoming people. This stopped them in their tracks as they saw the spikes of rock rise out of the ground in front of them. Some of the gasped of the thought of being caught in the midst of the rocks. The rest, on the other hand, thought of it as no more than a bluff and believed that he was too afraid to attack them at all. These ones rushed back in unafraid of the consequences.

"Lightning Blade!" Yuan called out as he launched his attack at some of the people around him. This knocked quite a few of them backwards, some of them having a hard time trying to get back up afterwards.

"I've had about enough of these guys Kratos," Yuan said as he looked over at his companion. Kratos nodded his head at Yuan as he got ready to really begin the fight and stop just playing nice with them all.

* * *

Storm was sitting in the cabin anxiously waiting for Yuan to return safely with her father. She had to admit, she was scared out of her mind at that point for both of their safety. Aria had been asleep for awhile, but had come into the front room not long after Yuan left to see what was happening. Storm had let her wait with her, but soon the girl was asleep on the floor.

Suddenly, Storm heard the sound of people moving through the forest. She prayed that it was her father and Yuan, but it sounded like a lot more people than just that. She got up and walked to the window to see what was coming. There she saw a large group of people with swords and some torches in head, coming right for the house. It was then she realized that they had been discovered and she was alone without Yuan. They knew she was there and she couldn't defend herself. Storm ran over to Aria and woke her up. Aria moaned a little before squinting up at Storm groggily.

"What's going on?" she asked her.

"Aria get up and pack some of your stuff into your bag, we're leaving," she told her as she grabbed her bag and put her in a standing position. Aria did as she was told and ran off to her bedroom to pack some things.

Storm was about to follow as well and begin to pack when she thought more about what would happen if they ran. She knew that she couldn't go very far, very fast. If they caught her, and most likely would, they would catch Aria as well. Storm knew they didn't know who Aria was, and it was her job to keep it that way. She would just have to send Aria on her own.

"Noishe," Storm called and soon the arshis appeared and cocked its head at her, awaiting her command.

"I need you to take Aria away from here and take care of her, can you do that boy?" she asked him. He whined a little at her request and Storm knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't worry about me, she's more important right now. Take care of her and don't leave her alone, okay?" she asked him.

Noishe walked over to Storm and rubbed his head against her hand. She lifted her hand to pat him on the head and scratch him a little between the ears. "If Yuan or I make it out of this, bring her back, all right?" she asked him once more.

Noishe barked a little before Aria reentered the room with her bag filled. Storm went to the kitchen and grabbed some food quickly and stuffed it in the bag as well.

"Where's your bag mommy?" Aria asked as she looked at Storm. Storm felt like she would break down and cry at any moment, but she knew that she had to stay strong for Aria's sake.

"I'll catch up soon, until then Noishe is going to take care of you so be good, okay?" she asked her.

"All right, I will," she said sadly as Storm placed Aria on Noishe's back before opening the back door to let the two run into the dark woods and away from the cabin.

"I hope they're okay," she said quietly to herself as she awaited what would come.

Suddenly, Storm heard a loud crash at the front of the house. When she got there she saw a very large soldier standing in the doorway with many villagers standing behind him. The man smirked at Storm and the situation she was in at the moment. Storm prayed that her father and Yuan would show up soon or else she would have to protect her child on her own.

* * *

Kratos swung his sword at some of the villagers, coming closer and closer to hitting his target, not planning on missing this time around either.

"Guardian!" he shouted as a large group of arrows were launched at him from the back of the crowd. He rose his shield up in the nick of time as they hit the barrier and dropped to the ground.

Yuan swung his own weapon at one particularly annoying man that kept trying to attack him, slicing him in the arm. The man jumped back in pain and stared at Yuan in shock, surprised that he had actually come in contact with him. The villagers all assumed that they would all be too frightened to actually fight back against them all. Unfortunately, this prediction seemed to be wrong.

Suddenly, some voices shot through the crowd.

"Leave them, I heard that another group caught another member of the group out in some cabin in the woods. We'll let them handle these two, they seem more experienced," they shouted.

Yuan's blood ran cold as he realized that they were talking about Storm. She was alone in the cabin and a group of people like this had found her. She couldn't use her angelic powers to defend herself and she could barely wield a sword as pregnant as she was.

Kratos noticed his friends' expression and knew what he was thinking of. He knew that Storm must have been the one they were speaking of. Unfortunately, he didn't know how defenseless Storm really was there.

"Judgment time Kratos, get us back there and fast," Yuan told him. Kratos nodded his head, knowing part of the reason for Yuan's concern.

"Sacred powers cast thy light upon these corrupted souls..." Kratos began as Yuan began to push his way through the crowd to gain some distance. Suddenly, Kratos' spell erupted across the field throwing people all over the place. Yuan unleashed his wings once again and began to fly back to the cabin, Kratos soon caught up with him, hoping that Storm could handle herself on her own.

* * *

"Storm...I believe it is, am I correct?" the man asked Storm as she glared at him. She grabbed the sword leaning against the wall, preparing herself to fight.

"What's it to you?" she growled at him.

The man chuckled a little at her actions. "What are you doing here so alone and so...helpless?" he asked her as he smirked at her while looking over at her form.

"Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything to you," she told him.

"Really? You mean you didn't do anything in that group of yours that hurt us humans? Besides, do you really think that we would want a child of Cruxis running around as well, especially one with a human mother and a half elf father?" he asked her, almost laughing at the thought.

"That's what this about?" she asked him, outraged at the reasoning behind their attack. "Why should it matter the race of the child?" she asked.

"You know, I think we've talked enough. It's time to do what I came here for," he told her as he took out his own sword and walked in, followed by some extra men.

Storm put her sword in front of her, ready to defend herself and even to attack the man in front of her. She swung her sword at him unsteadily as his own sword forcefully slammed into hers, causing Storm's to fly out of her hand and to crash through the nearby window.

Storm had panic in her eyes as she saw the men coming towards her. She knew she had nothing left to defend herself with.

"Let's have a little fun, shall we?" the man asked as he came to Storm and grabbed her throat, lifting her off the ground. Storm grabbed at his hands and tried to pry them off of her. She tried to get some air as she struggled to breathe through his grasp.

Finally, Storm attacked the man back as she kicked him in hard in the leg, causing him to drop her from the pain. Storm landed on the ground and scrambled away from the man, catching her breath.

"Grab her," the man croaked out as two of his men ran up to Storm. Storm tried to get away, but she wasn't fast enough. The men caught her by the arms and held onto her as their leader came up to her once again. He kicked her in the back, causing her to cry in pain. He came at her once again, but Storm made sure he didn't come anywhere close to kicking her where her child was, she wouldn't allow it.

"Are you having fun yet? I know that I am," the man said as he kicked her one more time, this time in the jaw.

The men picked Storm up off the ground one more time as she whined in pain. She stared at the man in front of her as he held his sword close to her stomach, ready to kill of her as well as her child.

"Just think you could have avoided this if you stayed away from half-elves," the man said to her coming close to her face.

"Go to hell bastard," Storm spit out at him, despite the pain in her jaw.

"I think you'll be there long before me my dear," he said as he brought his sword back ready to thrust it into her side. Storm saw it coming and knew she couldn't avoid it, but she was determined to make sure her child would.

Storm twisted to the side right before the sword hit her straight in the stomach, causing it to hit the side of her belly, where she hoped it would miss hitting her child directly. After the attack the men holding her pushed her backwards to the ground to let her bleed. They walked out of the house with their leader.

As soon as they were out of the house the leader commanded some of the men holding torches outside.

"Burn it down," he said as the men followed orders and threw the torches on the top of the roof to allow the house to burn to the ground.

Back inside Storm heard the faint sounds of crying as she realized that her child was still alive, but had been prematurely called into the world. She reached down painfully and found the tiny hand of her infant. She pulled the child close to her and calmed his screaming before she blacked out.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I didn't say she was dead, blacked out. Anyway, bi cliffie of doom there. Anyway, let me know what you think. I need reviews. So, thanks for reading and I hope you liked this. 


	20. Chapter 20: New Life

Man, I am SO sorry, but fanfiction was really done, I had this done on Friday and it would NOT let me submit it. Believe me I tried, sorry again. Anyway ,I hope you liked the last chapter and all, thanks for the reviews. I'm here to tell you that this is the last chapter of this story. So, I hope you enjoyed this story and thanks so, so much to everyone who has been supportive of this story with either reading or reviewing. Thanks! Anyway, I won't leave you in suspense any longer. Here's the last chapter.

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Chapter 20: A New Life

"No!" Yuan screamed as he got to the cabin as he saw the roof on fire. He could only imagine what had happened there, knowing he was too late to protect Storm.

Yuan ran over towards the cabin to try and get in to see if she was still inside.

"You're too late, I already finished her off," someone said behind him. Yuan spun around to come face to face with a larger man. Yuan was so angry that he was seeing red as he stared down the man.

"Damn you," Yuan said to him coldly. "She wouldn't have hurt anyone and you killed her and the child?" he asked him in outrage.

The man smirked a little at Yuan's comment. "Of course I wouldn't have hurt her and the child if she didn't harm anyone, but the fact of the matter is that she was a member of Cruxis and needed to be disposed of. The same goes for that damned child of yours. Born from a human and a half-elf, who ever heard of such a thing?" the man said as he stared down Yuan with his blood thirsty eyes. He raised his sword up and stared at the blood on the blade and laughed a little.

"You should be thanking me, I got rid of your problem. Now you don't need to worry about having that accident," the man said.

"I loved her and that child more than life, how could you ever think you were doing me a favor?" he asked him angrily.

"Sure, whatever," the man said as he waved a hand at him.

Yuan growled a little under his breath and decided he would have to take care of the man later, but he knew that Storm was inside the burning building, possibly still alive. He turned his back on him and ran into the house with Kratos close behind him, trying to catch up on all of the information he'd just learned.

"Sir, shouldn't we go after them, they are members of Cruxis as well?" one of the soldiers asked his commander.

"No, if they want to burn in that building I say let them," the man replied as he turned and began to walk back to the village.

Yuan and Kratos burst into the house as the fire from the roof began to grow with intensity. They knew they didn't have long inside before the entire place would collapse. Some of the sparks from above had fallen down below, causing the fire to spread to the floor. Yuan searched through the house as best he could looking for Storm, but was finding it hard in the heat and the smoke. Finally, he heard something that caused his heart to skip a beat. He heard the faint sound of an infant crying.

Yuan followed the sound as Kratos came behind him. Soon they both saw what they had refused to believe was true. They saw the bloody, lifeless looking form of Storm lying on the ground, but beside her was the crying infant. Yuan bent over and took off his cape. He swung it around and picked up the child and looked it over for a second.

"My son..." Yuan said quietly as he held his child in his arms. He turned around to look at Kratos who was still trying to catch up on the news that Storm had been pregnant, and the fact that his daughter had been murdered.

"Let me carry my daughter out," Kratos told Yuan as he looked at Storm, the rare glitter of tears in his eyes. Yuan looked down at Storm for a moment, seeing how exactly she had met her end. He wouldn't try to hide the tears back in his eyes as he shook his head at Kratos.

"No, I'll take her out. You take Thalion," Yuan told him as he lifted his son to Kratos to hold. Kratos looked at the boy for a moment before giving Yuan a confused look.

"Thalion?" he asked him, wanting a little more explanation.

"My son...take him out of here while I get Storm," Yuan told him as he Kratos finally took his grandson and held him in his arms. Kratos nodded his head at Yuan as he looked back at him.

"Okay, but you better hurry up and get out," Kratos warned him before getting the young child out of the smoke and fire.

As soon as Kratos left Yuan knelt down and scooted closer to Storm as he touched her hand with his. He then took the same hand and caressed her cheek lightly.

"I'm sorry, I could have been here for you, but I let you down," he said as a few more tears trailed down his cheek. He closed his eyes and sat in thought for a moment.

"Yuan...?" Storm's voice quietly made its way to Yuan's ears. He opened his eyes slowly and stared in disbelief as Storm's hazel eyes stared up at him.

"Storm?! You're still alive? This is great, I can get you out of here and we can heal you," he said excitedly as he grabbed her hand. He was about to go on, but Storm interrupted him.

"Yuan...I'm sorry, but I know that my time here is short, even if I am healed. It's too late now. Where is our child and Dad?" she asked him as she looked around searching for her child.

"Our son Thalion is outside with Kratos safe and sound," he assured her quickly before switching subjects. "Storm, you can't really believe that you're going to..." he said cutting off when he thought of what could happen.

"It's okay," she told him softly as she reached up and touched his arm.

"No it's not because I should have been here and then you would be fine," he told her, almost yelling.

Storm shook her head at his behavior. "I told you to leave in the first place. Besides, you can know that when I do pass on that I was so happy, one of the few times in my life where I was really happy. It's because you'll be with me. I was so afraid before that I would be alone when I died," she told him as a small tear escaped her.

Yuan sat on the floor more, getting up from his kneeling position. He pulled Storm slowly and carefully on his lap. She looked at him with a worried expression.

"Aren't you going to get out of here before this place collapses?" she asked him.

"No, I'm staying here with you until the end," he told her as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"No you won't, I won't let you do this Yuan. Get out of here, take me out with you if you don't want to leave me," Storm yelled at him as strongly as she could which didn't turn out to be that strong at all in her condition.

"I can't..." Yuan said softly. Storm stopped and looked up at him, waiting for something that he was hiding inside. "I can't leave you...I can't let someone else I care for die while I continue to live. I've had my time in this life and it's time for me to pass on as well...with you," he told her.

"Yuan..." Storm whispered. She stared into his eyes before she closed her eyes to try and hold back her tears. "Do you remember that night in Flanoir a long time ago?" she asked him.

Yuan thought back to her time in the Flanior where she had complained about the cold. He smiled a little at the memory, especially of how young she had been. "Yes, I remember it perfectly. It's one of my favorite memories of you," he told her.

"It was because of that memory that I was able to make it through my time in Cruxis at times. That let me know that you actually did care about me, along with my Dad. If it wasn't for you two, I never would have made it this far in life," she admitted to him.

"Storm...I love you," Yuan said as he stared into her eyes.

"I love you too," Storm said weakly.

_"My life hasn't really been all that bad after all..." _Storm thought.

Yuan reached down as he picked up the upper end of her body to bring her closer to him. When she was close enough he kissed her on the lips softly, but passionately. When they parted Yuan looked down and saw Storm smiling softly at him before she closed her eyes for the last time, letting go of her last breath.

"Storm?" Yuan asked as he shook her very gently. When he realized that she was finally gone he pulled her body close to him and buried his face in her shoulder. He cried, not caring to hold the tears back anymore. There was a large crash behind him as some of the boards from the ceiling began to fall down. Yuan didn't flinch though as he cried at his loss.

"I'll be with you soon Storm. Take care of Thalion, Kratos. Please Aria, take care and find Kratos if you can," he said out loud as he pulled Storm even closer, waiting for the rest of the building to fall around them.

* * *

Anna watched as the house burned, knowing that her mother was dead inside and that Yuan and Kratos had gone inside as well.

"Finally, I've gotten wanted. Now my mother can no longer haunt me day in and day out," Anna said as she smirked a little as the roof finally collapsed on the house. "She finally got what she deserved," she added at the end before making her way back towards the village to tell the rest of the people the good news.

She knew that she had managed to get rid of three strong members of the group with her plan and she was excited with this. To her now, this had no longer become a matter of revenge, now it was more about power. She hadn't realized it, but the idea of becoming the most powerful was all that concerned her time now. She was getting rid of the group, not for revenge like she said, but rather because they were stronger than her and she felt threatened by it. She would never admit this to anyone, not even herself at this point.

"Now I can finally begin to take over this world and become the most powerful person in it. But first, I think I need to make a trip to Derris Kharlan," Anna laughed, heading back to the base which would lead her there.

* * *

Kratos watched in horror as the house finally collapsed with no sight of Yuan at all. He knew what he had done and he hated himself for not realizing it sooner.

"Damn it Yuan, you can pass on but I can't," Kratos said as he looked at what was left of the house.

Kratos looked down and stared at the infant in his arms. The boy had little tufts of cyan hair like his father, but had hazel eyes like his mother. He now had a responsibility to raise his daughter's son, and he couldn't just give up on life because of it. The little boy looked a lot like his mother in so many ways it almost hurt him to look at him. It reminded him too much of his loss, of his pain. It also made him remember his pain with losing Anna, that Storm had suffered almost the exact same fate. His mind wandered back to times with Storm.

_"Kratos come in," Anna's soft voice called to him. Kratos gained the courage to walk into the room. He walked in slowly and tenderly. "Come meet your daughter Kratos," Anna said as she lifted their new baby up a little for him to hold._

_Kratos carefully picked up the infant and cradled her next to him. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile at her. "What's her name?" Kratos asked, wondering if Anna had finally come up with a name._

_"I think I like the name Storm," Anna replied. Kratos looked at her and cocked his head a little at her answer._

_"Why Storm?" he asked her._

_"Because I think storms can be mysterious, powerful, and yet can be so peaceful and beautiful. It's a good solid name," she replied._

_"It's a wonderful name," Kratos replied after hearing her explanation._

_"Daddy?" a small voice called from the other room._

_Kratos handed Storm back to Anna as he got up and walked to the door where Lloyd was sitting. He was barely over a year and just beginning to say more words. He bent over and picked up the toddler as he carried him to the bed where Anna was laying. _

_"Lloyd, meet your new sister, Storm," Kratos said as he held Lloyd above the bed so he could see his mother and Storm._

_"Storm," Lloyd repeated as he stared at his sister in wonder._

_"You're her big brother now and you need to take care of her," Anna told him as Lloyd nodded his head, understanding his new duties._

_Kratos smiled as he looked at his family, realizing that he had never been so happy before in his life._

_It was Storm's seventeenth birthday, the first that her and her father had truly spent together for many years. They had just recently settled back into Derris Kharlan. _

"_Here you go Storm, I hope you like it," Kratos said as he held out a small box to his daughter._

_Storm took the box carefully and opened it to reveal the gold necklace, at the bottom of the necklace was a moon and star charm. Storm loved to look at the night sky and she immediately fell in love with the necklace._

_Kratos took the necklace and placed it around her neck. "When you wear this necklace you can take comfort in knowing that no matter how far away you are from someone you love, as long as you look up at the night sky, you can be sure that they will always be looking up at the same sky and thinking of you," Kratos said. "Your mother always used to tell you and Lloyd that when you were little."_

"_Thank you Dad," Storm said as she wrapped her arms around him._

"_Remember, you can always trust in me, I'll always be there for you," Kratos said._

A tear escaped Kratos as he walked along before he ran into something else that reminded him of his new loss. He looked over and saw Storm's beloved sword laying on the ground. He picked it up and placed it in his belt as he decided to leave to find some cover for the night. He had to protect his grandson, he had to do it for his daughter. He would carry on her legacy.

"You weren't supposed to die before I did Storm...it's all my fault..." Kratos whispered to himself as he disappeared into the forest.

* * *

Noishe and Aria came out from the woods as they stared at the burning house. Aria cried as she jumped off Noishe and tried to run to the house. Noishe jumped at her and picked her up by the back of her shirt with his teeth. She tried to pull herself free, but Noishe wouldn't let her go anyway.

"Mommy...Daddy...why did you leave me now?" she asked sadly. She hated losing someone else she cared about.

After she quit struggling, Noushe set the girl down and licked her face to try and cheer her. Aria pushed him away gently before she sat on the floor and brought her knees to her face. She buried her head in her knees and began to sob. She hated being alone, and now she was back in a similar situation she was in. She made up her mind that she would no longer come to care about anyone again for fear of losing them once again.

Awhile later, after the fire had died out, Aria got up and placed her hand on Noishe's back who bent down and let her get on. She climbed on and Noishe led her back in the forest as they tried to figure out what to do next.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this story. This is where I need a lot of help from all of you. I was thinking about writing another story, one that continues when Thalion grows up. **I need input from everyone, whether you have ever reviewed for this story or not. That doesn't matter now, I just want to know what your opinion is. Please leave a review, even if it's an anonymous one for those of you who don't have an account.** Anyway, thanks for reading, hope I didn't depress you all too much. Anyway thanks and please please please review!!! Thanks! 


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